lists

   Is it alright to ask for a list? I'm all for little children writing their letters to Santa and making a wish list for Christmas. But I'm thinking about adults. Should I ask for a list? It does relieve me of the task of selecting an appropriate gift. I do think you should have to put some thought into whatever gifts you buy for others. Those gifts should reflect that you know them. What I mean is that you know their likes, dislikes and what may amuse them. It takes paying attention to them all the time not just sometimes. On the other hand, if you get them something from the list you know it is something that they want. I've always tried to get something that I feel they will like but not necessarily anything they want. The objective being to give you something you didn't know you wanted.

  I do ask my grandchildren, now all grown, for a list of things they would like to have. The cost of things being what they are there is little money to be wasted on guessing. I miss those days when they were little children. I could go to the dollar tree, dollar general or whatever and buy those big sets of toys. You know the kind, cheap plastic stuff but a lot of pieces. Sure, looked like a lot and little kids no nothing of quality. Quantity was the deal. Yes within a few months following Christmas the majority of that stuff was already broken or missing in action but that wasn't the point. It was the excitement of Christmas morning, opening all those gifts, paper flying and going to the next. 

  I have noticed in more recent times the proliferation of lists. I remember them being called gift registries. They were usually associated with someone getting married. The intent was to avoid getting fifteen blenders or hand mixers! The couple just made a list of household items they figured they would need to set up housekeeping. I'm thinking that is an old-fashioned concept these days as most couples have been living together for a good while beforehand. Nowadays Amazon will allow you to just make a list with all the appropriate links and add that to your shopping cart. Click and your shopping is over! Now you can get back to thinking about yourself. That list may include gift cards with the numerical value stated. You can say, I just want money.

  It's the thought that counts. I mentioned that the other day as I was writing about Black Friday and all the sales. It is what I was told as a kid by my mother. I was told that whatever you gave to someone whether it was homemade, bought in a store or just something you found somewhere, like an extra pretty flower or unusual rock, it was the thought behind the gift that mattered. The purpose was to show that person that you cared about them enough to take the time to think about them. The gift should be meaningful. Although I admit just what meaning it was supposed to convey was a bit of a grey area. Not all people mean the same, know what I mean? Also, it's my feeling that not everyone feels the same way about that. Some people just want what they want, and don't care if you thought about it or not. If it's on the list, that's good enough. 

 If asked my answer will always be the same. I don't want anything. I don't make any lists; I don't say I want this or that. When pressed I may offer a few suggestions but dislike doing that. Makes me uncomfortable. I'm not sure when the transition took place. It was long after I knew that Santa Claus didn't really bring those gifts. I still circled the items in the Sears catalogue and made my wants known to Mom and Dad. I don't remember ever making a list though, not a real list just lots of hints mentioning if I had "this or that" that would be great. I think maybe it was after I had joined the Navy. After that I was grown! At least I figured I was and grown folks don't make a list for Christmas or anything else. In fact, it's a little sketchy to even ask for one, except from a little kid that is. That is when the magic happens.