Staff Editorial

Letters to the Editor

Editorial Cartoon

Melanie Melançon

Shopping for gifts can be really difficult. You never really think about that until you're stuck having to do it.

It seems there are two ways to go shopping. You either know what you want and set out looking for it, or you don't know what you want and hope something will jump out at you.

So Valentine's Day was coming and my man surprised me twice. About two weeks before Valentine's he pulls out this stuffed monkey that whistles and says, "I love you" whenever something moves in front of it. I laughed and we played with it for quite a while.

My second surprise came a few days before Valentine's. He held it behind his back and said, "This one doesn't make any noise, I promise." It was the cutest little stuffed puppy I ever saw with a heart that said I love you. I felt loved.

I still smile when I look at my stuffed animals. When the monkey whistles and says, "I love you" as I turn off the lights to leave, I like to think it's my man telling me he loves me and wants me to have a good day.

Do guys feel the same way? I have a hard time picturing a guy treasuring some little stuffed animal, but I didn't know what to get him for Valentine's Day. Not candy or crazy underwear ... a card wasn't enough. I was looking for a stuffed dog because he likes dogs, but I came across this gorilla that sang and had to buy it. He liked it. But now it's like my monkey. It just sits there, and I wonder if he thinks it's just taking up space and he's keeping it to save my feelings.

Now his birthday is coming up. What do I get him? I don't want to get him something he can't use. Anything he could really use is well beyond my budget. I can't quite fit in a new clutch or a down payment on a new truck, and that new house might just break the bank. For various reasons I can't get him a dog.

Asking people to help you decide never works. Everyone either gives an idea that is too general, asks what his or her interests are so they can fall short or simply says, "I don't know. You'll have to decide that for yourself." And if someone does give a terrific idea, it's not really personal because you didn't think of it yourself. 

It seems that almost every time I decide what I want before I go get it, something goes wrong. It's not there, it's more than I thought it would be, it's the wrong color or it just wasn't as good of an idea as it seemed originally.

But if I go to the store looking for an idea, I always end up roaming aimlessly. I either see 100 things that might be good or nothing at all.

Well, I have to find something, and it has to be good. I think he'll like it no matter what, but I want it to be perfect. I don't want that "oh, thank you" response in a polite manner. I want that "wow! You got me this! Oh Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I want to make him feel special because I love him. I want him to see it, hold it, use it, think about it and think of me and how wonderful I am to have thought of something like it. Is that too much to ask?