getting it right

[redbird]

Lise and I were wandering through thrift shops last week. In one of them, she found a plush stuffed buffalo. While she was considering buying it, I told her that if she didn't want it, I did, as a gift for Patricia. After a bit of thought, she bought it herself, as a gift.

Yesterday, after a bit of deliberate build-up, of how she'd heard this would be just right, but if not, "say something noncommittal" and she'd take it back, she asked Patricia to close her eyes, and handed her the buffalo.

Nothing noncommittal was said: Patricia took it, delightedly, and carried it for the rest of the afternoon. Lise gave me credit for pointing her in the right direction, and Patricia thanked us both.

Sometimes giving people things, or helping find gifts, is a real pleasure.

Comments

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

You and Lise are a good pair in thrift shops. The dress you two found for me at The Fan Club is still my favorite formal gown (though I can't fit it at present, and am hiding it from the niecelet).

gift-giving...

[(Anonymous)]

My mom set me a good example of combat-shopping. One of the ways in which this can be more of a virtue than a vice is present-giving. I love finding a good present for someone, and watching them light up when they open it. Finding a *plaid* stuffed Cthulhu for Larry years ago was immensely satisfying...

It's a neat nonverbal way to show how well you know someone and what you think of them and that you care for them, even if it can be a little materialistic :-.

ers