...and I just can't hide it!

I love giving gifts. I love it. If I were supa dupa rich, I'd buy gifts all the time for friends and family. There are so many times when I see The Perfect Widget and I think, "Oh, Emily would love that!" or "That would make my dad so happy!" That moment when I know I have something that matches up perfectly with where I know someone is at, when I have it wrapped and I get to anticipate their face when they open it, is perfect.

My favorite gift of all time is the gift I gave Andrew the day we got married. To someone else, it might have seemed odd. But what happened was this: Andrew had just started a new assignment with a client. One of his first in a high-rise, a fancy-pantsy high-rise. The kind that comes with art collections. And the art hung across from his cubicle was something he described to me more than once. "I just love to stare at it," he would say. So I called the main switchboard for the company, asked to speak to their art curator or art archivist, whatever they had. When I reached her, I described what Andrew had described to me and asked for her help. She was able to help my find a copy of the print, which I got framed. It hangs in our kitchen right now. He cried when the bridesmaids delivered it.

Sometimes, though, those moments of inspiration don't quite match up to either the occasion--like finding a Christmas gift in March--or they don't match up to my wallet. Like finding a $300 gift for a friend. (Or for anyone, for that matter, right now.)

Which is why I'm so excited about Andrew's birthday this weekend. I think I did it again. I don't think he expects it. And I hid it, really well. I can't wait to give it to him. I really really think he'll like it.