Daniel is an exceptional gift giver. This is a skill (gift) that he inherited directly from his father. David, himself, is an exceptional gift giver. He is very thoughtful. Me, on the other hand, I can barely remember that it’s someone’s birthday let alone come up with something to get them.
My gifts are always metaphorical and deep or super shallow. Nothing in between. Typically just plain ole horrible gifts.
Daniel, however, is always on the mark with his gifts. I always consult with him when my friends and family are having birthdays or things to celebrate. He is really good at it. Hes super thoughtful. Of course you get the occasional, “Let’s buy him a TV, or a new car.” but we always seem to find a great gift! He typically leads with “Well, what do they like?” and as simple as that may seem, it helps me calm my anxiety about purchasing a gift and actually remember why I am buying a gift in the first place, to be thoughtful.
Being out of town and all, we missed Teacher Appreciation Week. Daniel loves his teachers (as previously stated) and his teachers live him as well. It makes my heart smile when they sing his praises. I wanted to make sure they felt appreciated. I know they go through a ton working with kids everyday but educators are super important and they should feel that way all the time.
Additionally, 16 May is Daniel’s Dad’s birthday. Daniel loves gifting his dad, above all other folks. I always welcome the opportunity to take Daniel to whatever store he requests to find whatever gift he wants to get his Dad. Not only is it a bonding moment for the two of us, but its also a lesson for me to learn how to be thoughtful and a lesson for him to delight in giving, gratitude and patience.
We picked up some coffee mugs (Daniel’s Dad and I both have a thing for coffee mugs) for our friends. A Superman one for Dad and a Teacher one for the teachers. We filled them with candy and bought bath bombs (a favorite of Daniel’s) for each of the teachers, creating a little basket of sorts. We wrapped them in cellophane and tied it with a pretty bow. We put in some good work together.
More than anything, I adore Daniel’s kindness and his willingness to make other’s smile. His generosity and thoughtfulness have been a huge lesson to me over the past few years. When we pulled up at school this morning, he, as dramatically as possible, facepalms and says “Mommy, we forgot the gifts for the teachers!” And to his surprise, my forgetful ass remembered to bring them! The smile he had on his face when presenting his teachers with their gifts far exceeds whatever was paid for them. It was priceless.