Completely in the Dark

Talk about forgotten gifts.

On my 21st birthday, Mom and Dad gave me a bottle of rosé wine (I could “officially” drink at 19, but the folks wanted to mark that occasion by buying me wine) and …  a forgotten gift.

Although it was from Mom, it was the kind of gift you’d be hard-pressed to make a 21-year-old do back-flips over.

Of course I’m dragging out the suspense, like the bright wrapper around the gift, but there’s a method to this madness. I’m feeling the need to milk the metaphor, so let’s have at it…

Gifts given and—especially—not given. Actually, I’m a terrible person to give a gift to: judgmental, dismissive—generally not a “happy-grateful receiver.” Most of the gifts I’ve received have meant little to me over the long haul. Gifts require some thought; they’re usually dressed up in some fashion (hence the “bright wrapper”) just to conceal…