Friday, November 19, 2010

First Gifts Blog Hop



Learn all about my first gift from my now hubby of twenty-seven years and hop arund to see other blogs on this tour of first gifts.

What’s Better than Practical?

Christmas was just around the corner and my new boyfriend, soon to become my fiancé had gotten me a present. By the glint in his eye, I knew he really liked his choice. He was forever chiding me about how much I’d love it.

Now, mind you, though he was a very loving soul, to date in our relationship he’d brought only steamed crabs, oysters, beer and wine to my apartment. It was obvious he believed the way to my heart was through my stomach. I, on the other hand, was the starry-eyed romantic, thinking of jewelry, perfume, even lingerie. What had he picked that gave him such glee?

I need to also tell the reader that my boyfriend, now husband of twenty-seven years, was a real outdoorsman. He still is, but physical issues have slowed him down. My hubby was the kind of guy who climbed poles for a living, did high-wire splicing, biked nine miles over steep hills to go to work and still wanted to play tennis when he got off. He was the kind of guy who felt at home in a muddy duck blind, hunting.

My cousin lived with me back then and knew I was curious about the gift. She’d badger hubby to tell her what it was, but he wouldn’t say. That is, until the day he was going to give it to me. She called me at work. “Don’t get real excited about your gift.”

“What’s the matter? He wasn’t cheap was he? He’s not the kind of guy’s who’s cheap.”

“Oh, no. The gift is quite expensive, but let’s just say it isn’t exactly you.”

I thought about her statement for the rest of the afternoon. I was a city girl. I wore three-inch heels to work, liked long hot bubble baths and massages. The thought of trudging through the dense woods in search of wild boar or mucking it up for the sake of one scrawny, greasy duck did not and still doesn’t appeal to me.

My thoughts went into orbit. My cuz must have overreacted--after all the gift was for me and he loved me. Although it might not be a great as what I expected, it couldn’t be that bad. Could it?

That night he presented his present, a huge wrapped box complete with bow. Staring at it, I wondered if it were one of those tricks with a box within a box within a box to look like something larger than it really is. But when I picked it up, the weight convinced me otherwise. What did he give me?

Just look below:



Identical to his so we could go into the woods matching. You know what they say: "You can't always get what you want, but you get what (he thinks) you need."

20 comments:

  1. Oh my! Sorry, but I howled with laughter when I saw that picture.
    Actually, they're really nice boots. :)

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  2. Hi,

    LOL, but oh so practical for trudging through woods! I hope you reciprocated with equally useful gift when the time came for funtime revenge!

    best
    F

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  3. LOL -- but did you get to USE them? Great story.

    Donna Cummings

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  4. If you think about it that's really a sweet gift..you know, that he wanted to take you with him.

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  5. "Don't get real excited about your gift..." Oh, that is perfect! So, did you go into the woods?!

    Thanks so much for joining the Blog Hop this weekend! xo

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  6. Okay, I was a good sport. I wore the boots a couple of times. But, honestly, they sat in my closet more than anything else. :)

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  7. How cute. He got you matching boots! (laughs)

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  8. Oh, Bobbye, when you read my blog you'll see how alike out husbands were. LOL

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  9. I agree with Eleri that it was sweet of him to want you to join him. But that said, I hope your second anniversary present was much more to your taste!

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  10. LOL! I really enjoyed this. Made me smile :O)

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  11. He knows now jewelry's safe as long as I tell him what to get. ;) He does send me flowers quite often.

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  12. Most guys I know like the great outdoors because they can escape their significant others! It does say a lot that he wanted to you to be with him.

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  13. Thanks, Traci. I know you're right. But when you're hunkered down in a boat while he shoots at a duck on your first date, you have to wonder. :) You ask, what has the guy got if she stayed with him 27 years? Well, he does have his moments :)

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  14. as a fellow high heeler I am recoiling in horror. My 1stAmerican winter I dragged the hubs with me to go boots hunting, I picked out a pair of leather knee high 5 inch boots and asked him "what do you think?", he sighed and the lady shopping next to us was holing her sides from laughing silently, eventually she holds up some clunky looking things and says this is what you need for winter in Iowa - your boots look prettier than those things.

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  15. Nice. He wanted you to be a hunter, too, and join in the fun. I wouldn't like being in outdoor weather cold enough to want boots. But, still, it was a unique and thoughtful gift!

    Thanks for your nice comment on my blog!

    Monti
    NotesAlongTheWay

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  16. Hey, he went for matching! That's points there, very romantic. I'm sure y'all were a very spiffy pair (until they went in the closet at least). Thanks for sharing the story.

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  17. Very funny..... and I thought my first gift was unusual.


    Michael

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  18. Aww... Poor dudes... a lot of what I get from these stories ends up that what the guys really need in a large way is for the female communication upgrade. Just tell us what you really love and we try our hardest to bring it to ya... although I'm speaking mostly of myself here... moving on.

    The writing was fantastic. Really enjoyed the lead ups and the description. Thanks for sharing.

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  19. This sounds so familiar. Like my Dad buying windshield wipers for my Mom for Christmas. So practical! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

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