i just sent a birthday gift to a friend. i’m so excited for her to get it – i love giving gifts. i tend to fancy myself a good gift-giver – there’s nothing more satisfying than surprising someone with a really inspired present. i love to file away little ideas for people in my head, jot down notes mentally about preferences, sentiments, dreams. i’ve gone to some lengths to get the “perfect” gift for someone – secrets and subterfuge.

the best gifts are those that are meaningful to the recipient – something that touches them, or captures a memory. for my sister’s birthday, i had a selection of photos of her daughter from birth to present printed in a bound book. for a friend’s 30th, i hand calligraphied a copy of maya angelou’s “phenomenal woman” poem. for my dad’s xmas present one year, i refinished a set of chairs in a beach theme to match his newly refinished room. for a friend with photography aspirations, i secretly acquired some of her best digital photos and had them framed as a collage.

i love doing things like that. i love giving gifts even more than getting them, because for me, the look on someone’s face when they are truly moved or excited is what makes me happy. even more than that, to find out that a gift becomes a valued possession – i recently went to visit a friends new house, only to come across a mirror i had made for her with beach glass and copper wire years ago. i’d long since forgotten about it.

but she hadn’t – and that meant more than any gift she could have given me.

via audio – presents

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Like this post

Unlike