It's the thought that counts

I had a recent conversation with a friend regarding gifting.  Gifting at Valentine’s Day to be more specific.  He was confused as to what to get a girl someone he hadn’t been dating for too long, he liked her, but was afraid of sending the “wrong” message.  He then explained to me how much men dreaded buying a gift for a woman for fear that it may not be enough, or too much, not spending enough, or spending too much, and what would the message be?  “It just messes things up.”  He said.  “Besides, she says she really doesn’t want anything.”

I was a little taken back by this, I didn’t know men felt this way.  Maybe they don’t and this was just an isolated case, somehow, I don’t think so.  I couldn’t help and wonder, “when did buying a gift for a person become such a traumatic thing?”

I thought back at my very first boyfriend.  Granted, we were teenagers, but that kid did the single most romantic thing any man has ever done.  Every month on the anniversary of the day he asked me out, he would give me a single red rose.  “So, you never forget.”  He’d say, and I haven’t, December 18^th.  He did that every month for close to two years.  To this day, I remember it with great fondness.  What did it cost him?  Nothing, really.  It was a beautiful  thought.  And, what did it mean?  It meant, he cared enough to put a little thought into me.

Bottom line, a gift doesn’t have to be expensive or big or extravagant.  It really doesn’t mean anything more than a caring thought.  Someone took the time to think of you and get a little something just for you because they cared.  It’s that simple.  There is no hidden message, there are no hidden expectations, it’s a simple thought.

And, men, just for the record, even if we say that we really don’t want anything, we do.  We do because it’s a token that comes from the heart of a person we care about and that means the world to a woman.

Copyright ©Lucy Tamajon 2012