One year she called me at work, a little angry that I’d been spending money.  There was a cryptic entry [...]]]> My wife is a thoughtful gift giver – she really makes an effort in selecting the right gift for the recipient.  However, she has a history of tipping her hand when it comes to gifts for me.

One year she called me at work, a little angry that I’d been spending money.  There was a cryptic entry in the online register at our bank and she was certain it was my doing.  A little research determined the entry (something like AMZ) was amazon.com, and a little more research led me to the item she’d purchased as a gift for me.  Oops.

Another year she directed me to look in the closet for something, the same closet she’d stashed a really nice print – my birthday gift.  It’s now hanging in our family room if you’d like to come by and see it sometime.

This year I figured she’d have no trouble keeping a lid on things.  I don’t like to spoil surprises so I’m careful not to look at anything that might compromise the secret.  Heck, I’ve been in FL nearly the whole month – I couldn’t make it any easier to hide things from me if I’d tried!

Last night we were wrapping gifts after the kids went to bed.  Eventually she retired so I could wrap my gifts for her.  Cleaning up after I was done I discovered a stack of printouts…the top being the confirmation of a gift magazine subscription for me (Plane & Pilot – just what I’d asked for…thanks hon!)  A quick glance at the next sheet in the pile told me it too was gift-related so I whisked the whole stack off to the shredder.

I didn’t see anything else, dear, I swear.

Except for that J Crew receipt that was elsewhere on the floor.  I can’t wait to see the shirt the kids got me…I’ll be sure to act completely surprised when I open it.  Shouldn’t be too hard – I don’t know what it looks like.  Since I too shopped at J Crew I first thought the receipt was one of mine, otherwise I would have sent it straight to the shredder too.

I can’t fault my bride for being a little forgetful right now.  She was really on top of things while I was gone, taking care of everything this month – kids, school, shopping, decorating, even baking and putting lights up outside which I normally do.  When she’s gone I invariably fall behind so I know it’s an accomplishment to keep ahead of the game in December.

If I was smart I would have just kept my mouth shut.  I guess I’m not much for keeping things under my hat either.  Hmmm…I’d better not mention that to the investigator currently working on my security clearance!