gift-giving

for as long as i can remember, i've taken pride in giving gifts. they've always had to be 'special' - my motto was that any gift i gave would have to be from ME and to YOU specifically. the first i can remember of this gift-giving philosophy was in high school when my best friend and i made that agreement. it led to some very sweet gifts. she gave me a best friend charm and i wrote her a poem about frienddship and had it framed.
i had no idea how big of a monster i had created.
this gift-giving philosophy is not easy to live up to. it makes christmas even more stressful than usual. it's especially difficult once you've given someone several gifts - you start running out of ideas. for example, my first christmas present to jesse was a "michigan survival kit" (he was moving there a week after christmas). i wrote a poem and for each stanza, i had a gift to go with it - they ranged from a jar of homemade hot chocolate to a DVD player. nice, huh?
well, jesse is now beating me at my own game. he quickly caught on to my gift philosophy and has made it a point to outdo me for every holiday. and he trumped me for good with my latest birthday present.
pictured below are the chairs that jesse MADE for me. yes, made. he and his father, with help from his mother, MADE me these two chairs (and a table to go with it which he's finishing now as i type this). and the sweetest part? one of them is shorter than the other b/c i'm a little teapot! the one on the right was specifically made for me and the one on the left for jesse!
i mean seriously. how will i ever top this gift???
thank you, jesse. so, so much.


(p.s. - for any of you 'sex and the city' lovers out there - my best friend said i was dating 'aidan shaw' - lucky me, huh?? haha)