Little Things

So I was out Christmas shopping last weekend in New Orleans. Of course you ask, why did you go to New Orleans to shop? Well my friends and I wanted some new shopping grounds so to speak so we decided the French Market was unique and would make each gift we got just as unique.

So the week of the shopping trip I make my list (the same list I make every year with a few more added in) and begin to think about what I am going to get each person on my list. I have an idea of what to get the ladies b/c they usually like the same things I do so that's easy.  My dad and step dad are pretty easy as well. My brothers and nephew are really easy.  Then I come across my cousin's name, who is a Mississippi State fan (I'm a huge Ole Miss fan) and I begin to wonder what I will get him. Buying anything MSU or LSU is completely out of the question in my book b/c I refuse to support any one's support of those teams. (It's just unheard of ;) )  Well I couldn't seem to figure out what to get him and on my way home from work I stopped at a little store to figure something out.  There it was the perfect gift for him but could I really buy it for him??? I mean it goes against everything I stand for and what if someone saw me with it, what would they think?? So I swallowed my pride and bought it.  What was it? An MSU travel mug! Shhhhh.....

I felt bad for purchasing it but then I thought it's not for me and he would really love and appreciate that I, an Ole Miss fan, bought it for him. So when I was in New Orleans I cam across another good gift for a friend but it would mean crossing that line again, only worse this time.  You see she is an LSU and Ole Miss fan (how I don't know) but she is surrounded by LSU fans year round therefore she supports them more.  At the French Market I found a watch, the band is purple and the face is tiger stripped and I thought to myself how much she would really love this watch.  Then I think to myself, am I really about to do this AGAIN and with an LSU item?? (You see there is huge animosity between Ole Miss and LSU fans)  But again I think, this is not about me but about the person I am buying the gift for and she would really like this watch and it is unique.

So I purchase it for her to the shocked gasps of my best friend (also an Ole Miss alum) and her cousin (a future Rebel).  But what can I say I like to surprise people with gifts that they would never suspect and I love looking at their faces when they open them and a little tear comes to their eye when they realize that I thought about their likes when I bought their gift.  That I took their wants and desires into consideration and got something that is uniquely them.  It's the little things like that, that push me to make those special purchases.