Deb and I are fresh back from doing some Christmas shopping and having a nice lunch together at Longhorn Steakhouse! We dressed up and made it into a special time.
But before I can tell you more, I must provide some background information.
Through the years, I’ve struggled with the
purchasing of appropriate Christmas gifts for Debbie. There was a season when I
bought her appliances and kitchen gizmos. I’ve been wise enough to almost
always include some jewelry among her gifts. Some years they were dangled for
weeks ahead on the Christmas tree, only to be discovered on Christmas Day after
she opened a special, romantic card.
I also shopped for her buying her clothing for
a few years. I walked through classy department stores and bought her sweaters
or tops that I really liked. I remember one that I purchased at Penney’s in the
Northern Lights Shopping Plaza in Baden many years ago! It was pure white, with
a fair amount of embroidery, with short sleeves and a slight V-neck. I thought
it was glamorous! I spent far more money on it than I should have. - - - - - I
never saw it after Christmas Day! 😶
Somewhere along the way, I realized that I was
severely missing the mark!
I’m a reasonably intelligent guy and thought to
myself: Harold, think this through! There’s
got to be a way for you to buy gifts for Deb that will thrill and please her.
That’s when I hatched my plan!
In early November [while stores are still well
supplied with merchandise and sale prices are beginning to become available] I
set a date with Deb during the daytime. I took her to the mall and just sauntered
through with her. I made sure that we walked through Penney’s and Macy’s
Department Stores as well as pausing at a few jewelry stores. Then, it was
essential to walk through Yankee Candle and Bath-and Body! Because Victoria’s
Secret was right next to Yankee Candle, I always paused to see if she showed
any interest in shopping there [Hey! What can I say? I’m only human! 😏]
When she would stop and look at certain items,
I made mental notes about where we were and which items she picked up. I was
discreet and made no comments. I was only present as an observer!
Then, the very next day I retraced our steps
and purchased many of the items that she had examined. Later, I – very poorly –
wrapped these items and placed them under the tree. In most cases, Christmas
was still six weeks away, so I don’t believe she ever put two-and-two together.
I had solved the problem! From that point on, she was almost always delighted
with the gifts that I presented to her. 🙂
For whatever reason, a few years ago she seemed
reluctant to go shopping with me so early. As a result, I divulged my secret
and told her what I had been doing. She thought it was really great and
declared that she had not caught on to my plan.
So – today was the day! After her Physical Therapy session, we dressed nicely, hopped into the car and headed for Boardman. First, we walked through Kohl’s. Then, we migrated to T. J. Maxx. She used her card at Kohl’s to get an extra 30% off [I’ll pay that bill for her – of course]! By the time we’d walked through these two stores she was pretty tired and my leg had gone numb. Being a veteran of shopping with my wife, I took my chair-cane with me. I always get a lot of looks when I set it up and sit down to rest for a few moments! ☺
That’s when we headed for the Steakhouse! It was probably 2:30 PM. We were seated immediately and had a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable late lunch together. We gave thanks, enjoyed our appetizer, along with our salads, loaded-baked-potato and potato soup! We brought enough home to have for supper later this evening! 👍
We talked and enjoyed the beauty of this day as we drove to and from Boardman. After a fairly long period of several months affected by her hip pain, surgery and recovery – it was a most enjoyable treat for us!
I’ve already told her that I think we should do it again – next week! As for now, two bags of gifts are stashed in my study waiting for me – with my ‘all-thumbs approach’ to wrap them for her delight!
If nothing else, I can testify to the fact that there is some truth to the old phrase: “Older and Wiser!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
Maybe next week we’ll hit Victoria’s Secret? - [Hey! I’m old, but I’m not dead! 😁]
