hearts and roses
Mind Reader
Okay, in 15+ years of togetherness and 11 years of marriage, I have yet to figure out how to WOW my H with gifts. And it's not me. It's him.
This morning we decided to wait until Thurs to open gifts when the girls get home from LI, all except one. So, I grab H's gift, the iPod Shuffle, and give it to him and he says, "oh".
Me: What? easy child said you really wanted one.
H: No, I was going to get a REAL iPod.
Me...well, I just kinda sorta burst into tears.
It doesn't matter what I bought. If I had gotten him the regular iPod, he would have said he wanted the Nano. Or he'd say he wanted the black one if I got the blue one. Etc. I can't buy him clothes because I've learned over the years that he's never happy with whatever we pick out for him, even if it's the exact same size and color he would have picked out.
There were only 2 gifts we've ever gotten him that he actually loved and didn't say one bad thing about: A new charcoal master grill by Weber and an amazing Specialized mountain bike (which, by the way, he never EVER rides - he uses his old bike).
No matter what, we can never score a homerun and it's more than just a little upsetting. You know, the best part about Christmas is GIVING a gift you think they will love, right?
I hate to point it out, but he's just like his parents - neither one of them gets excited about anything. I used to search for the perfect gift for mother in law and then I realized that no matter what I bought the woman, she wouldn't like it. And as I'm typing this I realize that it's not because she hates me so much but because that's just the way she is. My H thinks it's awesome when people are low-key and idolizes, can't stop talking about someone he admires because they are "understated" - ugh. It's like mediocrity rules or something. Always be even keeled, never get excited about anything. I think when I open my mouth and start babbling away I scare his parents - they don't know what to think of me.
H tells me EVERY year how much his Christmases stunk every year growing up and this year he finally told me why. He said that Christmas stunk because his parents were always such a drag and never got excited over the holiday. And you know what? He's turned out just like that. My Christmases growing up were not always rosy...we never seemed to have money, but thank God, my mom tried to make it special and it was. There was the one year when my ex-brother in law beat the daylights out of my sister and my dad nearly killed him and threw him out - that was a special holiday. And then, don't forget that my birthday is right after Christmas, so that always stunk as well. I've tried over the years and made a promise to myself that I will ALWAYS make the holidays and birthdays special occasions for my girls and my family. I never want them to look back at holidays and birthdays and recall a sad memory or a horrible event.
H complains about how his family was growing up and yet, he's repeating history. And when I point that out to him, he denies it and says he's nothing like his parents. Ugh.
I can't believe I cried, but it just hurts me so much to never be able to give him a gift that he just accepts and likes and is like Wow. And so I never got even ONE gift today. I finally told H that he could bring it back and trade it for a nano, but he says he doesn't think he'll ever use it anyway so he's just going to return it. Duh? So, the only big gift I got my H he doesn't like. After a horrible hour or so, H made breakfast, and after that I made Empenadas and we went to my neighbors house for an early dinner. Later a friend visited us for a while, then we went to a movie - Juno, which was great - and then home. H is now asleep, I am exhausted.
What a crappy Christmas. I don't even want any gifts from H at all.
This morning we decided to wait until Thurs to open gifts when the girls get home from LI, all except one. So, I grab H's gift, the iPod Shuffle, and give it to him and he says, "oh".
Me: What? easy child said you really wanted one.
H: No, I was going to get a REAL iPod.
Me...well, I just kinda sorta burst into tears.
It doesn't matter what I bought. If I had gotten him the regular iPod, he would have said he wanted the Nano. Or he'd say he wanted the black one if I got the blue one. Etc. I can't buy him clothes because I've learned over the years that he's never happy with whatever we pick out for him, even if it's the exact same size and color he would have picked out.
There were only 2 gifts we've ever gotten him that he actually loved and didn't say one bad thing about: A new charcoal master grill by Weber and an amazing Specialized mountain bike (which, by the way, he never EVER rides - he uses his old bike).
No matter what, we can never score a homerun and it's more than just a little upsetting. You know, the best part about Christmas is GIVING a gift you think they will love, right?
I hate to point it out, but he's just like his parents - neither one of them gets excited about anything. I used to search for the perfect gift for mother in law and then I realized that no matter what I bought the woman, she wouldn't like it. And as I'm typing this I realize that it's not because she hates me so much but because that's just the way she is. My H thinks it's awesome when people are low-key and idolizes, can't stop talking about someone he admires because they are "understated" - ugh. It's like mediocrity rules or something. Always be even keeled, never get excited about anything. I think when I open my mouth and start babbling away I scare his parents - they don't know what to think of me.
H tells me EVERY year how much his Christmases stunk every year growing up and this year he finally told me why. He said that Christmas stunk because his parents were always such a drag and never got excited over the holiday. And you know what? He's turned out just like that. My Christmases growing up were not always rosy...we never seemed to have money, but thank God, my mom tried to make it special and it was. There was the one year when my ex-brother in law beat the daylights out of my sister and my dad nearly killed him and threw him out - that was a special holiday. And then, don't forget that my birthday is right after Christmas, so that always stunk as well. I've tried over the years and made a promise to myself that I will ALWAYS make the holidays and birthdays special occasions for my girls and my family. I never want them to look back at holidays and birthdays and recall a sad memory or a horrible event.
H complains about how his family was growing up and yet, he's repeating history. And when I point that out to him, he denies it and says he's nothing like his parents. Ugh.
I can't believe I cried, but it just hurts me so much to never be able to give him a gift that he just accepts and likes and is like Wow. And so I never got even ONE gift today. I finally told H that he could bring it back and trade it for a nano, but he says he doesn't think he'll ever use it anyway so he's just going to return it. Duh? So, the only big gift I got my H he doesn't like. After a horrible hour or so, H made breakfast, and after that I made Empenadas and we went to my neighbors house for an early dinner. Later a friend visited us for a while, then we went to a movie - Juno, which was great - and then home. H is now asleep, I am exhausted.
What a crappy Christmas. I don't even want any gifts from H at all.
