Some gifts are extra special

What makes a gift extra special? For me, it’s that the gift tells me someone knows me inside and out and knows what will make my heart sing. Do I appreciate any gift I get?  Yes, of course.  It’s just that every once in a while, I open a package, break into a huge smile and exclaim, “Oh!”

That happened this week when I received a package in the mail from an out of state friend.  We girls long ago agreed that presents get opened as soon as they arrive. No waiting for Christmas Day or the day of our birthdays.  Just seeing the package on the front porch was special because we don’t regularly give each other gifts.  Some years only one of us sends a gift, and some years we both do; some years we send Christmas gifts; some years we send birthday gifts; some years only cards.  It’s hard to say how we decide. It may have to do with whether we’ve seen each other that year or talked frequently on the phone or just that we’ve stumbled upon that special something and knew we had to get it.

I opened my beautifully wrapped box and found three items.  The first thing I spied was a package of cocktail napkins that depicted a stack of books with titles like Chablis, Pinot Noir and Merlot, with the very clever saying, “Well Red.”   The play on words was apropos in that I’m an avid reader and enjoy a regular glass of wine, typically red. 

Next was the book, “Why We Write,” a collection of interviews with authors who explain “how and why they do what they do.”  I haven’t been writing for as long as I’ve been reading, but I enjoy doing both, and it’s quite often something I read that sparks a blog or column. When I dipped into the book, I found that one author had said essentially the same thing: “Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.”

If it weren’t enough that my friend recognized my penchant for reading and writing, she also included an item that touched on my love of cats. It was a kitchen towel decorated with a green-eyed cat wearing a plaid scarf.  Puddin’, my calico office assistant, agreed the towel was perfect.  Any one of these presents would have brought a smile to my face, but the combination made me grin from ear to ear. In fact, I’m grinning even now as I type this.

I had to pick up the phone and call my friend right away to ask, “Do you know all of your friends so well that you can find the perfect something for each of us?”  She replied that sometimes something speaks to her, and these items did just that, especially the book.  I feel fortunate that she heard that voice and fortunate to have her as a friend.

Good friends are the best gift of all, and any additional gifts are just a bonus.  Now, every time I open the book, bring out the napkins or glance at my cat towel, I’ll think of my friend … and I’ll smile once again just as I’m doing right now.

Have a comment? Write me at  The Ink Penn.