December 17, 2019. Madison, Mississippi. Gifts.

Some people seem to think of the perfect gift for a friend or relative. And some people are not. Trying to think of a gift for me is difficult. I do not eat sugar. Clothes are out because I am so big that nothing fits me. Ken always ordered everything we could possibly need or use for our homes so we need nothing. And we usually fly in and out so carrying an object is impossible. But sometimes, just the best gift arrives. When I was leaving brunch, Christina gave me a Christmas bag. She usually bakes for us but as I was leaving on Wednesday baking made no sense so I was surprised to be giving a gift. In the bag was a Christmas ornament: a brown pig with a gold crown. I love pigs and have several so this addition to my collection is perfect. It sits beside Grandma Houghton's gold framed picture on top of the book case. I love my pig. Molly selected the pig. On the same day, on Sunday I received a gift from my across the street neighbor. It comes in the category of, "What were they thinking?" These neighbors I like but over the years they have given me odd gifts. This gift was long and narrow, 42 inches by six inches by 4 inches high. It was nicely wrapped and brought to me by their charming daughter. The box was full of fancy cookies. I live by myself and I do not entertain much so my first thought was to wonder when I will eat all those fancy cookies. My answer was to say, "I will not ever eat them." So when Eleanor came to bring me home I gave her the box of cookies. With four children in their home those cookies will disappear in a flash, so immediately I regifted the gift. Now I hope they do not read my wee web log. I would not want them to be offended. One gift given to us years ago always makes me smile. We had an event in Ontario although we live in Maryland. We had flown and on the invitation had requested no gifts for this anniversary brunch. But someone ignored the request. When we opened the gift in Wendy's cottage later that day, , everyone in the room laughed, The gift was very heavy, made of some Crystal material. It must have weighed 15 pounds. There was no way to get it on the plane so we left the chunk of rock with Wendy where it still holds open the door. "What were they thinking?" I said to myself. My answer was that they probably regifted the gift to us. Gifts can be tricky but always fun.