This weekend, I gave one of my best friends a present that has been sitting in my purse since her birthday in October. It was a charm for a Pandora bracelet, something I was sure I had seen her wear. But, it turned out that I was wrong. She doesn’t have the bracelet, and thus the charm is useless. Selecting presents for people I care about is something that I truly love to do. I put a lot of thought into the process, trying to balance fun and function. I enjoy it so much that I even wrote a column about it while I was unemployed a couple of summers ago. As far as I know, this is the first time I’ve really failed at gift giving. I felt awful, and although I know she would never say so, I wouldn’t be surprised if my friend was a little disappointed.
The day after this happened, I went shopping for a present for another good friend. Honestly, I was a little nervous about finding the right thing, second guessing myself more than usual. I had to take a step back and remind myself that this is something I’m really good at it, and it’s the thought that counts the most.
Some of you may be wondering what the hell this has to do with you. Most people find gift giving frustrating, and look forward to reaching the age where it’s no longer necessary, or when they have a significant other who takes care of it for them. For me, this was a failure, albeit a small one. Instead of letting it ruin all further gift giving attempts, I’m taking it in stride. If we can’t learn to deal with the small failures, mistakes and bumps in the road, how will we cope with life’s major challenges? Just because you mess something up once doesn’t mean you’re starting a new trend. Dust yourself off and try again.
