Dan is not romantic. He does not like to shop (unless we're talking Princess Auto, electronics from E-bay or Canadian Tire.) I knew this before I married him. The first gift he ever gave me was 3 pairs of wool socks. "Why?!?!?" you ask? There are plenty of other un-romantic gifts out there (and believe me, I've received most of them) that he could have chosen. Truth is, he really was thinking of me when he chose the socks. We were preparing for a backbacking trip to Newfoundland and he wanted my feet to have good cushioning so I wouldn't get blisters (and therefore require him to carry my backpack.)
So, you see, I didn't go into this marriage expecting romantic gifts and,in fact,I have gotten a couple of great gifts...
Erin was born after a traumatic, scary, meds free, ... and TMI ... so many stitches they wouldn't give me a number...delivery. The whole thing scared Dan so much that for Mother's Day a few days later he surprised me with a swimming pool. Sure, not romantic - but this so topped my first Mother's Day when Allie was a newborn when Dan invited a single buddy over for the day and managed to pick up a take-out pizza. Have I ever mentioned that I don't really care for pizza?
One year Dan stumbled across, without any help, hints or outright stating from me, a little adhesive tool for scrapbooking that really excited me. Not excited in the romantic way. Dan thought he hit the jackpot with this gift. Lucky for him this little tool required adhesive refills. The next 4 or 5 gift giving occasions I received adhesive refills. Again, not romantic. Practical, yes. If you know Dan then you know he is all about practical. This was 6 or 7 years ago and I still have unused refills.
So, we've been together 16years (OMG), married for 14. On average, we'll say there are 3 gift giving occasions each year (Christmas, my birthday and we'll throw in a "pick one" between Valentines, our anniversary and Mothers Day - I know I'm not his mother but he could help the kids out a bit!) Of course I do accept gifts anytime. In fact, I remember one time a loooong time ago (BK - before kids) I was off work sick for a few days and he surprised me with a Kitchen Aid mixer and while yes it is a kitchen gadget (usually frowned upon by me as being a household item not a present) it was such an out of the blue thing that I was thrilled to receive it. So, 3 gifts out of 48 opportunities gives Dan a pretty poor success rate (and if I was any good at math, I'd figure out the percentage.)
Disclaimer - I'm really not that much of a material girl but I really think items such as tuna can strainers, brooms and dustpans are best left for occasions other than birthdays. These would be totally appropriate for many other occasions...OK, so the only occasions I can think of are housewarmings or going away to college care packages. And pool chemicals are only an appropriate gift if attending a housewarming where the house does indeed have a pool...again, not acceptable for birthdays, even if I really liked the pool as a Mother’s Day gift.
So Christmas has recently come and gone and I'm sure you are wondering how Dan made out shopping this year. I'm happy to report that I got everything on my list! Of course I decided to cut out the middle man. I used to make out a list of things I wanted including EXACT store, size, colour - even attached coupons from Michaels. Then Dan would trudge out and battle the crowds and then come home and complain about the whole experience. This year the best gift I gave Dan was freedom from the mall. We were both happy (well, Dan hasn't seen the credit card bill yet!), I didn't get a nozzle for the garden hose, and Dan was spared the daunting task of shopping. Oh wait, he did get an ounce bottle of baileys attached to a bottle of rum that I said would make a good stocking stuffer. Funny how he could battle the crowds at the liquor store no problem.
And so another Schurman Family holiday tradition is born. In fact I believe it will become a tradition for all gift giving occasions where he is the gifter and I am the giftee. Saves him the stress and saves me from getting a swiffer duster.
So, you see, I didn't go into this marriage expecting romantic gifts and,in fact,I have gotten a couple of great gifts...
Erin was born after a traumatic, scary, meds free, ... and TMI ... so many stitches they wouldn't give me a number...delivery. The whole thing scared Dan so much that for Mother's Day a few days later he surprised me with a swimming pool. Sure, not romantic - but this so topped my first Mother's Day when Allie was a newborn when Dan invited a single buddy over for the day and managed to pick up a take-out pizza. Have I ever mentioned that I don't really care for pizza?
One year Dan stumbled across, without any help, hints or outright stating from me, a little adhesive tool for scrapbooking that really excited me. Not excited in the romantic way. Dan thought he hit the jackpot with this gift. Lucky for him this little tool required adhesive refills. The next 4 or 5 gift giving occasions I received adhesive refills. Again, not romantic. Practical, yes. If you know Dan then you know he is all about practical. This was 6 or 7 years ago and I still have unused refills.
So, we've been together 16years (OMG), married for 14. On average, we'll say there are 3 gift giving occasions each year (Christmas, my birthday and we'll throw in a "pick one" between Valentines, our anniversary and Mothers Day - I know I'm not his mother but he could help the kids out a bit!) Of course I do accept gifts anytime. In fact, I remember one time a loooong time ago (BK - before kids) I was off work sick for a few days and he surprised me with a Kitchen Aid mixer and while yes it is a kitchen gadget (usually frowned upon by me as being a household item not a present) it was such an out of the blue thing that I was thrilled to receive it. So, 3 gifts out of 48 opportunities gives Dan a pretty poor success rate (and if I was any good at math, I'd figure out the percentage.)
Disclaimer - I'm really not that much of a material girl but I really think items such as tuna can strainers, brooms and dustpans are best left for occasions other than birthdays. These would be totally appropriate for many other occasions...OK, so the only occasions I can think of are housewarmings or going away to college care packages. And pool chemicals are only an appropriate gift if attending a housewarming where the house does indeed have a pool...again, not acceptable for birthdays, even if I really liked the pool as a Mother’s Day gift.
So Christmas has recently come and gone and I'm sure you are wondering how Dan made out shopping this year. I'm happy to report that I got everything on my list! Of course I decided to cut out the middle man. I used to make out a list of things I wanted including EXACT store, size, colour - even attached coupons from Michaels. Then Dan would trudge out and battle the crowds and then come home and complain about the whole experience. This year the best gift I gave Dan was freedom from the mall. We were both happy (well, Dan hasn't seen the credit card bill yet!), I didn't get a nozzle for the garden hose, and Dan was spared the daunting task of shopping. Oh wait, he did get an ounce bottle of baileys attached to a bottle of rum that I said would make a good stocking stuffer. Funny how he could battle the crowds at the liquor store no problem.
And so another Schurman Family holiday tradition is born. In fact I believe it will become a tradition for all gift giving occasions where he is the gifter and I am the giftee. Saves him the stress and saves me from getting a swiffer duster.
Posts
1 comments:
Good storie neisy. dan is luky that you will shhop for him
Jed
Post a Comment