He's definitely on the nice list

I wonder if all men are funny about gift giving, or if it's just my husband.

To give him credit, he courageously went where no man should ever go... Christmas shopping with an emotional woman on the Saturday morning before Christmas. My mom was diagnosed with cancer on Friday, and the news was still really fresh. So he, being the great husband he is, volunteered to stand beside me as I cried through the Snuggie aisle at Bed Bath and Beyond.

So, in classic man and woman form... the clash of shopping style ensued. I meandered through the aisles of TJ Maxx, not having anything in particular in mind, but hoping something would just "jump out at me" for someone on our list. As you probably know, this is against everything a man is. This blows their mind. Mom says if I keep taking him shopping with me, he'll end up one of those glazed-over men you find sitting on a bench in the mall. They could have been there for hours. Or days. All you know is that they are miserable and are fantasizing about being at home with a beer in hand watching ESPN. Wow, now THAT'S not stereotyping. But anyway, at one point in my perusing this conversation occurred...

"Natalie there's nothing here, can we leave?"
"I'm not done looking."
"This just isn't the place, we're not going to find anything here. Let's go."
"How do you know? We've only gone down two aisles."
"I just have a feeling. Let's go."

A feeling? About TJ Maxx? You can find some bargain-priced gems in that store, honey. You just don't KNOW.

This also fascinated me: Every time I paused in question over which size, what color, etc. etc. to get of a particular present... cue husband to whip out his cell phone. "Let's just call (insert giftee) and ask them which one they want." To which I (ever so sweetly) rip the phone out of his hand and reply, "You're ridiculous." You see, I believe ever so fervently in the element of surprise for Christmas. Sure, my dad knows that I am going to get him a pair of slippers every single year. Never fails. Default Daddy gift. But do I tell him that's what he's getting? Absolutely not. It's the principle of the thing.

After several hours of following me around... I got progressively more and more stressed and more and more emotional, so he won the Best Husband of the Year Award by volunteering to do the rest of the Christmas shopping himself.

Including... his own presents. Yes. Against all I just reported above.

So last night we decided to go ahead and celebrate our Christmas together before spending the holidays with family. Somehow still as excited as a kid on Christmas morning, he handed me a bag full of stuff that he had bought for his own stocking and raced out to put together my stocking. I opened the bag and guiltily stuffed his stocking with the items, feeling terrible for not choosing them myself, but so grateful he let me go home and spend time with my mom instead. He came back in, still way more excited than necessary, considering the fact that he had no Christmas surprises. As I began revealing gifts from my stocking, I quickly realized that his excitement was stemming not from presents for himself, but from sheer delight in watching me open my stocking and enjoy the gifts he had chosen for me.

This certainly is not the first Christmas I expected, but I certainly couldn't ask for a more supportive and wonderful husband. Even if he will never be invited shopping with me again. :)