My husband has a way of buying the best gifts. He has never been one of those clueless men who shows up with a lack luster gift on Christmas morning. He has always been over the top. Finding the perfect gift even if it wasn’t something I would have thought of myself, like the first edition copy of Gone With the Wind with an itinerary for a trip to Disney Land inside it. He just gets me.
I gave up on trying to be as good of a gift giver as he is a long time ago. Though I like to think I’ve wowed him a couple of times in last 12 years.
However there is one gift he got me that will never be topped. It was the gift he gave me on Christmas of 2006.
I had been begging for a puppy from the day we got married. I spent hours online researching the perfect dog for us, I stared at puppies in pet stores wanting to take them all home with me. I wanted a puppy so badly.
And John was open to the idea until one day when he said he just felt that a dog wasn’t in the cards for us this year. That it was too much to take on.
Who would walk the dog and pick up poop? Who would watch the dog when we went on vacation? He reminded me of my of how my Dad reacted when I was a kid.
I was sad but I knew he would come around in time. So I dropped it.
Then as Christmas got closer, I began to mention it again, almost as a joke. “What do you want for Christmas?” A puppy.
So on December 23rd when John went out on the porch to take a call I immediately pounced when he walked back in.
“Who was on the phone?” I said.
“No one”.
“Was it a man about a dog?”
“No why on earth would you think that. It was about work”.
Turns out it was a man about a dog.
That Christmas my stocking was filled with squeak toys and dog brushes, but there was no puppy in sight.
John told me we had to go to him moms to open presents and I knew where my puppy was.
It was love at first sight when I saw the puppy dressed in a green holiday sweater that Christmas morning.
I spent the whole day trying to come up with names. I wanted something festive but not obvious. No Rudolph or Claus for my pup.
I named him Bailey, after George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life.
Best Christmas present ever.
Linked up with Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop
Your husband reminds me of my dad… he gives the best gifts. Including a puppy one year to my mom. Since I grew up with a man who knew how to give good gifts I thought every man was like that. Um, nope. It took me a while to accept that most men (and people in general) struggle with gift giving!
Well then, Happy Birthday Bailey!
Sweet Story.
My husband is a great gift giver too. Me…..not so much. But it's totally unfair because he just buys everything he wants and I give him an exact list with name brands, where to buy, prices etc. for me.
But I do pick out good books for him.
What a wonderful Christmas gift! I'd love to get a puppy for Christmas also. But the huz thinks we have enough pets (and kids) already.
Visiting from Mama Kat's!
What a great gift!!
Awwww, not only is he the cutest puppy, but your husband is the sweetest man!! I love that he's so thoughtful in the gifts he gives you!
I remember once I was eyeing this beautiful coat in a store when Tim and I went shopping (this was a super long time ago). Well, later on, he ended up going back to the store and buying it for me. I had no idea that he had even noticed me looking at the coat. That coat, which I still have, means more to me than any other gift he's ever given me simply because it was a thoughtful gift.