Practicality

As that day that occurs once a year in which you receive gifts on approaches (I have issues with that day and I usually try to not bring it up), I have had some internal struggles. Neil has been pestering me about what I want. I promised Neil from day one that I would not be that girl that expected him to read my mind and guess. Because that usually is setting a man up for failure. So over the years, I usually tell Neil exactly what I want or I just buy and wrap it and label it from him. However, this year I am struggling with fun gifts versus practical gifts. I definitely think that a fun gift would be awesome like a gift card to my favorite clothing store or a weekend trip. However, when your budget is as tight as ours then I feel guilty about requesting something frivolous. So then I think maybe a practical gift would be better. For example, I need a new frying pan that is decently sized. I am sick and tired of every time I try to make stir fry or ham fried rice or anything that requires a frying pan that I can’t fit everything in and just end up making a mess. I also need some new winter boots. All day on Friday, I was bothered by the fact that my feet were freezing. Several hours of suffering later, I realized that I had a hole in my boot near my toes. Most would think boots would not be practical but have you ever lived through a Logan winter without boots? Finally, I am blaming most of my sleepless nights on the fact that I have a lousy sad excuse for a pillow. A pillow is practical right? Because I’m not sure that getting a pillow for a gift is the most exciting thing.

Well, I suppose I am being slightly misleading because I actually did decide what Neil should get me. Now you are really curious, huh? I love suspense. Well, not if I’m the one in suspense but the other way around. Anyway, I went with the pillow. It was a difficult choice because I insisted that if we were going to spend money on a pillow it had to be good one. No more $5 pillows. So with a coupon to Bed Bath and Beyond, we invested in a pillow. I say invested because it makes it easier thinking about how much money it cost but I realize that it will not yield dividends other than a great nights sleep. Anyway, I guess the internal struggle is over except for the fact that I just feel older for choosing a practical gift over something fun.