I'm a terrible gift giver. Full stop. I wouldn't want to receive one of my gifts. It's simply the grace of God that I found a woman loves me despite the fact that I once gave her a 3-hole punch as a gift.
Yes, I said that matter of factly, not for comedic effect or any form of hyperbole, but because well, here it is.
Every once in a while though, I come up with a pretty good one. For example, Heather had a scooter in high school, so in 2015, I got her a scooter.
It's Oct 2020 as of this writing, and I may have finally used up all the "good gift" cred that one got me.
But I've had some other winners along the way. Here's a scavenger hunt I put together for our 23rd Anniversary.
Here's another example: a simple table with a good story. And I didn't even build it.
What a bad photo...the carpet is not golden. But that's not the story.
A few years ago, my wife's dad was murdered. He lived on a couple hundred acres in rural TN and was a rancher. His farm house was made mostly by his own hands, and out of cedar wood cut from the property.
Lately, my wife's step-dad has begun wood working during his retirement. He makes small tables, shelves, and cool planters. He sometimes incorporates old farm equipment/machines into his creations.
This year, for my son's birthday, I asked my wife's step-mom to acquire some cedar wood off the ranch (she sold it years ago). Then I asked my wife's step-dad to work with Ryan to build table out of this meaningful wood. Then I asked my wife's mother to make Ryan's favorite foods for the workday.
It was a group gift from all four grandparents on that side. My contribution was just the idea. But what an idea!
Paul took it a step further and got some more meaningful wood from his and his brother's property in rural MO. He also saved enough wood to do it again with Carson when he's old enough to be trusted with power tools. It could be a while. :)
