The holidays are one of my favorite times of the year and I love the spirit of the Season but there are some things that completely take me out of my comfort zone. There are things I have to do this time of year that I am not exactly an expert at. Gift-wrapping is one of those things.
First Attempt
In all the lessons I have learned in life there are some things that I just simply cannot do. There’s actually quite a large list of things I know I will never be good at. For some reason the holiday season seems to bring out a whole slew of things that I never have to think about doing the rest of the year.
Nothing in my repertoire has prepared me for gift-wrapping. AT ALL! Not once in my life have I ever had to wrap a fish in anything but ice. When I want to share my catch with people I simply pull up and open the cooler.
“Look what I brought you” and their face changes to a smile.
Usually.
I have found out through experience that not everyone is grateful to receive a cooler full of fish that have not been cleaned. I was completely shocked when I found this out, but I did learn a valuable lesson.
To each his own I suppose.
I know God loves a cheerful giver but trying to wrap presents does not make me cheerful. It makes me the opposite of cheerful.
I become Cheerless!
Mostly because I cannot do it and it frustrates me. I’m not frustrated that I can’t do it, I’m frustrated that I’m expected to do it, or that I expect myself to be able to do it. Then I remember why I don’t do it. It’s a downward spiral I try to avoid to the best of my abilities, but I usually start out every Holiday Season the same way: "This will be the year that I unlock the mystery of gift wrapping."
I’ve seen those perfectly wrapped gifts and have even watched videos of how to do it. I quickly came to the conclusion that those videos are just Movie Magic. There is absolutely NO WAY a person could wrap something and make it look like that. They didn’t even get one piece of tape in the wrong place. I usually end up with twisted, weird looking tears of things that used to be tape but after a few seconds left alone with me it’s something else now.
Something that will never be tape again.
Now imagine an entire box covered in that and paper that should have been on a smaller box, with flapping edges here and there, with a bunch of bows to cover up tears and holes and places I just forgot about, and you have a gift wrapped by yours truly. You can’t even see all the tape stuck to me that I just gave up on using.
I kind of feel like the Tasmanian Devil of gift-wrapping. It usually gets to the point of me just wanting to cover the entire thing in duct tape and writing on it with a permanent marker:
To: Whoever can get in it.
From: As if there is any doubt
Sorry for the wrapping job. I asked Santa to get his elves to do it, but they were busy.
Good Luck!
No, I am not in my happy place. I am not cheerful right now. I need to walk away from this for a minute. I need to go fishing and figure this out. I need to get my brain out of the way until the idea of how to do this finds its way into my head.
My Happy Place
1 WEEK LATER!
I caught a couple nice trout and had a great time. Nothing soothes the soul like a good day fishing. (There is no such thing as a bad day fishing) Unfortunately I am no closer to unlocking the mystery of gift-wrapping than I ever have been. I’m starting to think that these people must know Santa and are in good with him. They just get his elves to wrap their presents for them and pass it off like they did it.
“They’re not fooling me.”.
There is just no way humanly possible to do something like that or, it’s just something I am incapable of doing. Either way I have to come up with something.
Normally I can use what I know and add a little creativity to it and make something that at least works. Sometimes it comes out better than what I planned on, but I haven’t been able to do that with gift wrapping. Nothing about me makes me qualified for this. NOTHING!
I had one idea about taping a piece of metal onto the gifts and putting them into a sack and then tying a magnet from a fishing pole and letting people fish for gifts. To me it sounds like an awesome idea. Combining fishing with Christmas except everybody actually catches something sounds brilliant. This will only work though if you get everybody the exact same thing.
It might work great once but next year the looks won’t be the same. Not everybody shares my enthusiasm about fishing. Some people like opening presents, so I decided against this idea. Unless I have no other option by the time Christmas gets here.
Procrastination
1 MORE WEEK LATER!
Yes, I am one of the people who is out on Christmas Eve, but I don’t think of it as procrastination. I have rules for fishing that also carry over into other areas. One of my rules, or guidelines, is this:
“I won’t leave the dock if it’s raining, but I won’t leave fish that are biting if it starts raining.”
If the stores are still open, I still have time to cast or shop. Same thing, right? That’s not procrastination, it’s determination. Especially if it’s the thought that counts. I put A LOT of thought into this whole present wrapping thing. To the point that I have to spend a whole lot of time fishing to stay in my happy place so I can be a cheerful giver.
Better to just walk away from it again and go to my happy place. Time to get my brain out of the way again. Time to go fishing again.
KISS Method
CHRISTMAS EVE!
I didn’t catch anything this time, but it was still a great day fishing mainly because I did not think about wrapping presents. I didn’t think about anything. I have been fishing long enough that the only thing I have to do is pick out a lure. The rest is just muscle memory or instinct. I try to keep it simple when I’m fishing.
Then it hit me: "The KISS method” Keep it simple smarty. I am overthinking this whole gift-wrapping thing.
I know I will never be able to do it like that. I don’t know why I keep trying to. Luckily, I don’t really care about the underlying elements of how I think. I’m more of the just do type person. “Why” is something I am probably better off not knowing anyway. I have my doubts about the whole study of how our brains work. Some of their “theories” are just wrong but that’s another story.
Knowing why I love fishing and the outdoors won’t keep me from appreciating it or make me appreciate it more. Spending more time there does. SOOOOOOO, I need to make gift wrapping as easy as fishing and as uncomplicated.
Google it and let someone else solve this mystery. Brilliant.
After a whole slew of Movie Magic videos and instructions that don’t make any sense, I finally made it to some people who actually know what they are talking about. These people are true geniuses and have some revolutionary ideas about gift wrapping. They don’t wrap it at all. They put the gift in a bag and shove colored paper on top to keep people from seeing what's in it.
Amazing!
This I can do. This I can do without thinking. This I can do like fishing. It also frees up a lot more time for things that don't take me to my un-happy place.
Now, I am in my happy place. I love a simple solution. I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate this more than my duct tape method too.
Funny where my mind goes when it gets frustrated by things I can’t do and how quick it goes there or used to. I am a work in progress and always will be. I know this and have accepted it for quite some time now. I learned to laugh at myself a long time ago.
No matter what it’s wrapped in, bag or perfectly wrapped box, it’s the thought that counts. Right?
Merry Christmas Everyone!
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