gifts

i really liked joel and amy's presentation today- and not just because of the free food! it's interesting to watch how people respond to being given unexpected gifts and then once they are used to the idea of having the gift a sense of entitlement develops. and even the most stoic among us were moved to laughter and excitement at the prospect of presents!!! it was really fun and also a great way to involve everyone in the ideas from the reading without it being boring or putting anyone on the spot. my boyfriend's mom is constantly giving me unwanted gifts- the last time i saw her the gifts included: a pair of bright orange suede moccasins, a dream catcher, countless newspaper clippings from the NY Times arts section, a red satin purse and a silver claddah necklace. as anyone who knows me might guess, none of these gifts are in any way useful to me (maybe the clippings, but i read the times online). i can't even wear the moccasins (i'm probably spelling that wrong) because they are way too narrow. and i don't ever wear jewelry, i'm allergic to gold and silver. yet everytime i see her, she bestows on me more useless ephemera. it's really a horrible situation because she is so awesome and she really wants to give me what she considers to be cool stuff that she thinks i'll like. but the gifts often actually create resentment. i resent the fact that this woman who has known me for almost 4 years still gives me the same gifts that i have told her dozens of times i do not want or need in the most polite way possible. i eventually just resigned to the fact that the happiness she gets from giving me things is more important, so i just smile and say "i love the moccasins!!!" and then i re-gift them to whoever i can find who might want them. i used to feel guilty about the re-gifting. but i feel comfort in knowing that re-gifting is a part of that cycle of giving that hyde talks about. and my mom just happens to love dreamcatchers, so i have re-gifted about 4 to her and also several pairs of moccasins. which makes me and her happy, so i guess it all works out in the end