"Do you still feel poor?" "Less so."
Re-learned something today: it's better to give than to receive.
Finally got around to shopping for presents. I am the worst shopper ever. Or maybe I should've stayed away from the book shop because I got sooo distracted. Right now, I'm more into almanacs, history and travel books or cultural profile-type coffee table books, and Book Sale always has loads of them. In my head, I was going, "Oooh, I want!" like a kid in a toy store. The place is kind of disorganized, just a hodgepodge of secondhand books really, which makes the whole environment that much more distracting. But so much fun, like walking in the park and seeing pretty animals randomly.
Anyway, I know I was procrastinating but I really wanted to put in a little more effort this year. Usually, I get all hyped up about buying everyone presents until I get burnt out and just ask my mom for the generic gifts she always has in stock for special occasions. This year (alright, today, as I was leaving), I went over the names on my list and tried to think of what they like or things we've shared. Not gonna lie, I think it was Jack Donaghy who inspired me to think like this. (But as I was running out of time, I was reminded of Liz and her great struggle to come up with something creative. Ah, good episode.)
So I already made a mental list of people I was going to buy presents for, right? Well, decided to throw that out the window shortly after seeing a couple of books that fit some of my other friends who weren't on the list to a T. Just couldn't pass it up. But that means I am still two gifts short because I ran out of my time and money for the original people who were on my list (plus, some of them are really difficult to buy for as we haven't been seeing each other regularly so I'm working from memory here). Also, since I expanded the list anyway to accommodate the items I found today, I feel like adding a few more people.
It's a little stressful and I don't even know if I can find gifts for everyone on my list. But that's not the point. Today, I realized it has been a loooong time since I've thought about another person's happiness this much. It has been a long time since I have willingly and happily given up my time for the benefit or enjoyment of someone other than myself. And it feels amazing, like I'm finally out of my own head for once. Thank you, Lord, for opening me up again to generosity. Thank you for giving us family and friends to love.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a good one. :)
Finally got around to shopping for presents. I am the worst shopper ever. Or maybe I should've stayed away from the book shop because I got sooo distracted. Right now, I'm more into almanacs, history and travel books or cultural profile-type coffee table books, and Book Sale always has loads of them. In my head, I was going, "Oooh, I want!" like a kid in a toy store. The place is kind of disorganized, just a hodgepodge of secondhand books really, which makes the whole environment that much more distracting. But so much fun, like walking in the park and seeing pretty animals randomly.
Anyway, I know I was procrastinating but I really wanted to put in a little more effort this year. Usually, I get all hyped up about buying everyone presents until I get burnt out and just ask my mom for the generic gifts she always has in stock for special occasions. This year (alright, today, as I was leaving), I went over the names on my list and tried to think of what they like or things we've shared. Not gonna lie, I think it was Jack Donaghy who inspired me to think like this. (But as I was running out of time, I was reminded of Liz and her great struggle to come up with something creative. Ah, good episode.)
So I already made a mental list of people I was going to buy presents for, right? Well, decided to throw that out the window shortly after seeing a couple of books that fit some of my other friends who weren't on the list to a T. Just couldn't pass it up. But that means I am still two gifts short because I ran out of my time and money for the original people who were on my list (plus, some of them are really difficult to buy for as we haven't been seeing each other regularly so I'm working from memory here). Also, since I expanded the list anyway to accommodate the items I found today, I feel like adding a few more people.
It's a little stressful and I don't even know if I can find gifts for everyone on my list. But that's not the point. Today, I realized it has been a loooong time since I've thought about another person's happiness this much. It has been a long time since I have willingly and happily given up my time for the benefit or enjoyment of someone other than myself. And it feels amazing, like I'm finally out of my own head for once. Thank you, Lord, for opening me up again to generosity. Thank you for giving us family and friends to love.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a good one. :)