The First Christmas
This was probably the first Christmas, certainly the first in a long time, when I haven't been able to do what I always do: find the perfect gifts for those I love and care about. And I'm not talking about expensive things, because I've never really had to money to totally splash out, and that isn't what my friends and family and lovers have wanted, anyway.
     No – I've always had the knack of finding the right thing: a book, or a trinket, that one thing the person I give it to is happy to receive; perhaps because it's something they've always wanted but never known that until I give it to them, or they've never been able to find themselves.
     Some years, I've bought the presents in May or September: in fact, most years, I buy the thing when I first see it, because I know it is just right for the person I have in mind. Depending on the date, it may become a Birthday gift, and I'll then find another for Christmas. And I've always managed.
     But this year, I've not been able to look for what I want – a combination of time pressure, other commitments, my own health, or the health of those I've been caring for. And that has given my cause for regret.
     For the most important people, though, I did manage. Last minute, last chance, but fortunately – just right. You see, the Gods are always on our side, if we allow them to be.
     But it wasn't the same – not the way I wanted it to be. Not quite the way it should be. Does that make me some kind of Control Freak? I don't think so. If it is better to Give than to Receive, which is what I do believe, then I want to give the Right Gift.
Miss Teri Regrets She Was Unable To Do It Her Way!