It’s The Thought That Counts

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"Too many times I have been guilty of taken those that love me the most for granted.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI am writing this in hopes to maybe open others eyes through my lack of vision./font p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font size="3"font face="Calibri"When we make gift lists we sometimes omit those that we love and we know love us with the rationale that ‘well the budget really can’t handle buying for everyone, and they will understand.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPlus they have everything they need already’span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWell this is true, they love you enough to understand that lack of a gift doesn’t mean you don’t love them or that they aren’t on your mind.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHowever, before you let your budget take the blame for that ask yourself a few qualifying questions.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDid you have the money to go out to dinner in the past year?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDid you stop at that expensive coffee shop a few times on the way to work this past year?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDid you chip in for the donuts at the office party?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDid you fork over $5-10 when they came around taking up a collection to buy your boss’s Christmas present?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhat was the name of that new movie(s) that you just HAD to see?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDid you attend that concert of that favorite singer of yours when they came to town this past year?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/font/font p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"I’ve learned that I tend to afford the things that I really want to do.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith that being said, did I really want to get them something for that special occasion (Christmas, Birthday) or are they just the convenient victim of my lack of budgeting?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt doesn’t have to be an expensive gift.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBut there are very few of us that can’t figure out how to live without a few expresso’s or see that big hit movie once it goes to Red Box.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSo when it comes time for you to decide if you can afford that little something for that person that has given so much to you, don’t rationalize that you can’t find something they need because they can buy themselves anything they need.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe gift is not about needing the material items you might can buy for them.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt’s about them needing to know that you thought enough of them to give to them.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe gift is not as important as giving it.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOne year, right after I got married we thought we were so broke we truly couldn’t afford to buy anyone anything for Christmas that year.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI went over to my Grandfather’s house and using his tools and his materials I made just about everyone on our list that year something.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhether it be a routered name in a piece of pine, or something cut out with a jigsaw, I even made one wind chime.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI took it home, wrapped it and gave it to my grandfather for Christmas that year.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI was so embarrassed by that gift, everyone else had given nice store bought gifts and mine was, well span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanto me it was junk.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe loved wind chimes and had a lot of very pretty ones hanging all over.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanYou know what, that ugly old homemade wind chime hung on the eve of his workshop for years.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUntil the day he died and even after./font p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"Every year like clockwork at Christmas I get a very special gift, a framed picture of my granddaughter.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf instead they decided to give me a big expensive gift instead I would be disappointed if somewhere under the tree I didn’t have a framed picture.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt’s the thought not the extravagance. /font p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font size="3"font face="Calibri"So the saying is very true, “It’s the thought that counts” Whether that thought be getting them a gift, or the thought is, “I really can’t afford anything right now” either thought counts, but one of them counts in ways we really don’t mean to say.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/font/font