“What is it? Give me a hint?” I would plead on a daily basis.
But I’d never get a hint.
So I checked our bank statement to see if there was some sort of clue. There was no clue by the way. Have I mentioned that I have very little patience? I tell my kids that patience is a virtue but when it involves a gift, I forget all about the virtue thing and just want to know what I’ve gotten.
I even asked Natalie what Daddy bought me since she had gone out with him.
“Cheese!” she said gleefully.
Cheese?!
Well, actually I wouldn’t be too bummed about cheese. I love cheese. Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepper jack cheese…my mouth was watering just thinking about it.
“It’s not cheese,” Tom told me.
“Yes, but if it were cheese, you wouldn’t tell me either. So how do I know that you’re telling me the truth?” I pointed out.
“I am telling you the truth. It’s not cheese!”
I managed to forget about the gift until Christmas.
Finally it was the day that I’d find out what Tom got me.
First, he got me this:
Actually, I picked it out because when I said I wanted one he looked online and said there were like 5 Flip cameras available and which one did I want? What color did I want? Did I want another battery to go with it?
“Just buy the one you want. This is giving me a headache,” Tom had fumed. He gets very impatient when he has to shop. It’s why he hates to do it.
So I bought this one and I’ve named it Flappy the Flip Camera.
“Do you have to name everything?” Tom asked.
Why yes. Yes I do.
Then he handed me the Mystery Present.
I twisted it around my hands for a few seconds.
“Are you going to open it already?” Tom asked impatiently. “I’m hungry.”
He’s always hungry.
“I’m savoring the moment,” I explained. I crunched the top part of the present and it was soft. “I say it’s some sort of stuffed animal.”
“Open it and find out!” Tom said, waving his arm towards the present.
I pretended I was a detective as I poked along my gift.
“Definitely a stuffed animal,” I mumbled seriously.
“Hello. Hungry man over here. Hungry man over here,” Tom said. “If you want me to take your picture, hurry and open the present.”
So I did.
And I found this:
Now, I get that some people won’t understand why Tom got this for me.
I mean, it’s an orange creature with bug eyes like Charro.
But here’s the thing: whenever we’d go to the store I’d always laugh at it. I had seen the movie where it was from (Monsters VS Aliens) and it turned out to be my favorite character. I had told Tom that he cracked me up a few times but I never thought he paid attention.
Now I know that he had.
“You listened to me!” I said as I pulled the paper off of my new friend Gerkin. His actual name is Insectosaurus but who wants to go by that? He looks like a Gerkin.
“Of course I listened to you. Now can we eat?” Tom begged.
“You listened to me! You knew I liked this!”
“Yes, I listened to you blah blah blah. Can we eat?”
“You listened to me. Your ears really work!”
“Now I feel like you’re insulting me.”
“I’m not! It’s just, sometimes I say things to you and you don’t seem to hear me. But this proves you can hear!” I said, waving Gerkin in the air.
“Mines?” Natalie said, coming up beside me. She tried to grab Gerkin.
“Uh no. Mines,” I said firmly, hugging him to my chest.
I brought Gerkin upstairs when we went to bed that night. He sat on my dresser.
“Er Amber? I don’t like the way that thing is staring at me,” Tom admitted.
“Then look away.”
“I can’t! I roll over and it’s watching me!”
“Gerkin has a name and he’s not watching you!” I insisted.
“He is! I won’t be able to sleep.” With that, Tom pushed the covers off of him, marched into the bathroom and then covered poor Gerkin with a towel.
Oh well.
So yes, even though it seems like it was a small gift, it meant a lot.
“You listen to me,” I said to Tom before I drifted off to sleep.
:)
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhhhhh so dats whad it wuz!
My husband listened too! I got Photoshop Elements! And I didn't get him anything. Oops.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your husband has ears! ;-)
Something is in the water because my husband listened to me too. Weird. I mean, wow but weird!
ReplyDelete(Weird is for the listening part and that animal thing you have in your hand, by the way!) :)
I get that the best part of the present was that he listened to you :) Thats so awesome!
ReplyDeleteDon't be fooled, it's by chance that he perceived something because he was in the desperate search of an idea about your gift ;-) just kidding, but really, men hear only when they want it, they have a selective hearing!
ReplyDeleteSo sweet. Just when we think they never listen, they manage to surprise us.
ReplyDeleteIt is always nice to know that hubs is listening...
ReplyDelete~WM
How cute! I tried to explain to someone once that part of a relationship is listening to them and seeing small little things they like and buying it for them for Christmas or birthday or something. It can be a super small thing but if they paid attention enough, THAT'S the big deal.
ReplyDeleteYou got a good one there!
I got my husband a flip too! I kept it a secret though. On my list? A new handbag, running shoes and a snuggie. He got them all for me...I just exchanged the bag (hey it was the wrong style...!)
ReplyDeleteHe listened!
ReplyDeleteHahaha- the things men choose to listen too!
ReplyDeleteso cute that he remembered & listened!
ReplyDeleteLucky! Listening to you is a fantastic present, and that there's an actual gift attached to it, well, more the better!
ReplyDeleteI want a Flip camera, too. I mentioned that here, but, um, he didn't listen!
Wait! What? Men have EARS?!!?! How do you turn them on?
ReplyDeleteSo glad he listened!
Gerkin is a freaking sweet name.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your husband listened!
You're gonna LOVE your Flip! It's the greatest.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
That's so sweet. I'd say you definitely received an incredible gift. Now, if I could just get my husband to listen to me. :)
ReplyDeleteyay for listening husbands!
ReplyDeleteSometimes the greatest gift is finding out that our husbands really can hear us! Although, then it just makes me mad that he apparently cannot hear me 80% of the time when I know he is capable!
ReplyDeleteI got a Flip camera too and am in love with it - so easy!!!
It's it awesome when they listen...and we think they aren't, but they are. I think that the men think this buys them some pretend listening time, though.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got Gerkin and Flappy. I enjoy my Flip a lot!
That's hilarious. Congrats on your husband listening to you. LOL
ReplyDeleteI got a Flip camera too. I love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd Gerkin is sweet. :)
Aww how sweet! Well my fiance sorta listened to me.. I told him i wanted white shoes maybe k-swiss.
ReplyDeletewell i opend up a pair of grey and purple nikes... Hey it was shoes lol and there was some white on it.
Oh well they still are nice :) Got to love men huh!
what a cute new furry friend you have...at least you don't have to fed it and clean up after it! :O)
ReplyDeleteAw...thats so nice of him. I loved Insectasaurus too....but Gerkin is much easier to say. Yay Gerkin.
ReplyDeleteand I love your jammies!!!
Happy New Year!
I love it!
ReplyDeleteI have a tree man from Lord of the Rings that hubby bought me. At the moment he is married to Barbie. The tree man, not the hubs. It's weird but it makes me happy.
Tom is THE MAN! I'm glad you got what you wanted for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your hubby for listening...great job!
ReplyDeleteAww....how sweet. I'm so proud of him! It's the little things that matter the most. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the name Gerkin! Yay for the Flip. :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, I love your pj's!
Awwww, now that's the ultimate Christmas gift any husband can get for his wife...listening!!!! Glad you got exactly what you wanted!
ReplyDeleteawww i love thoughtful gifts like that!! he listened! :)
ReplyDeleteI dig the FLIP myself. I know my hubby doesn't listen and I've stopped caring. I pick all my good gifts :)
ReplyDeleteI got the Flip for Christmas too! But I didn't get a Gerkin - maybe next year :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Hub.
ReplyDeleteAnd my Hub got me the Flip last year. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
That is very sweet!!
ReplyDeleteAww...yay for Tom listening!
ReplyDeleteAs for the camera, does this mean there's gonna be a TON more pics on your blog now?
:)
My hubby listened this year too!! I'm pretty sure hell must've frozen over with all this husband listening going on. That's just too coincidental, must be a conspiracy.
ReplyDeleteNow you've got me wanting a Flip. And are those Happy Bunny PJs?? I loooovvvvee the Happy Bunny!
♥Spot
That's the best Christmas present EVER! Some might not understand but those of us with husbands know that just the fact that he "heard" is the best thing ever.
ReplyDeleteI know!!! And I totally love it!
ReplyDeleteHow great is it to feel HEARD???
We don't fight often, but when we do, they are mostly caused by me feeling (correctly, of course) that the hub is just not listening to me! Grrrr...
Glad Gerkin is there to remind you of a male aberration-- Tom listened to you! Happy New Year!
i TOTALLY understand what this meant to you... nothing like finding out that they DO listen sometimes to make us happy!!!!
ReplyDeletehave a wonderful new year!!!!
LOL Your smile tells me you really enjoyed the gift. He's a good man.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice surprise for you! Funny he couldn't sleep though with Gerkin watching. LOL!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Awwww for a brief moment he thought of something besides food! LOL Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOMG! You got him to pay attention?!?! Girl...THAT's half the battle!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting my blog!! You are one funny girl ... I am a new follower now!! Happy 2010!!
ReplyDeleteOOoh! Is he a SWEET Gerkin?!
ReplyDeleteI got a flip camera for Christmas, too - I am SO excited about it!
Glad your day was filled with happy!
How is the little lady's leg?
Okay, so when I was young, I named the faucet in our bathroom Farrah. I know, very clever. And then I drew faces on all of the pencils I could find and named all of them. Mark had giraffes on his body. And then I named my brother's hot wheel cars. And yet, all of my dolls were either Melissa or Lisa. Except my Cabbage Patch doll, who was already named, and traumatized because of it. I don't know how they came up with calling the poor thing "Fanny."
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased for you that your husband actually listened. :)
A camera AND a Gerkin? Wow - you must have REALLY been a good girl!
ReplyDeleteThat was sweet that Tom both LISTENED to you AND brought you the toy.
Awwwwwwwwwww see, I just knew it would be a new "kitty"
ReplyDeleteI name things too! I also got a flip. His name is Filipe.
ReplyDelete