My 3 Favorite Presents

When you’re one half of a couple that’s been together for awhile (and will be together for the long haul), you know there are years you don’t make gift-giving magic happen with one another. With Nick and I, at least we still get one another gifts. I know a lot of my friends who, once in a committed relationship, stop doing it all together.

That makes me sad for them. I think it’s because, even though I tell myself material things from him don’t matter, getting a gift from Nick (even if I happen to know what it’ll be) is so awesome. I get to see him smile big when I open it. I get to tell him I love it when he worriedly asks me if he did OK. And somewhere in the process of it, I fall in love with him all over again.

Here are the three best Christmas gifts Nick has given me in our 8 years together. I’m not saying he’s a perfect present-giver (we’ve each had our “Oh crap – I forgot to get you something and there’s only a week left ’til your birthday/Xmas/anniversary” moments for sure), but these three cherished items are proof of how much my husband loves me. And whenever I look at them, I fall in love with him all over again.

MY GUITAR:  When we first got together, I spotted a “Learn How to Play Guitar” book on Nick’s bookshelf and shared with him that I played piano and always wanted to learn guitar. Three years later, we’re opening presents and I open up my last one to discover that old book. “What’s this?” “This is one of your old books, right?” His response: “Well yeah, but your real present is out in the garage.” I ran shrieking outside to spot this beautiful instrument waiting for me. I’ve taken some lessons since then and still can’t play all that well, but I LOVE my guitar and I’ll never forget this Christmas as the one where Nick made me feel like a little kid again.

MY FAVORITE PAINTING: My first visit to Nick’s home in Brown County, Ind., we spent the day hiking and walking around the town of Nashville. For the unfamiliar, Brown County is a mecca for Hoosier artists and so we spent some time at Nashville’s art gallery, buying a print from an Indiana artist named Dean Davis. A few years later, Nick and his dad DROVE TO EVANSVILLE (a six hour drive from Muncie) to visit Dean in person at his home studio, where Nick bought me an original painting of his. My jaw dropped the Christmas he gifted it to me, but it was the story behind the present — how much effort he went to get it for me — that will always make this the piece of art the most valuable in our home.

MY ANTIQUE TYPEWRITERS: Nick gave me these back in ‘05. I had mentioned to him that, with us being writers and all (we were both journalists at the time and he still is), it’d be cool to have something antique-y to pay homage to the craft. He snatched two for me on eBay, one of which had a sweet note inside he’d typed using the typewriter. Proof it still worked and, to me, the best part about the whole gift

What about you guys? Got a favorite gift from a relative/friend/spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend you want to share about? I’d LOVE to hear all about it in the comments!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Friend Gail on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.