On gift wrapping, and other related musings

On gift wrapping...

I was once a member of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls, a service organization for girls ages 12 - 20.  Along with service, Rainbow Girls have to raise money in order to do all the fun things they want to do, and in my assembly (individual unit of Rainbow Girls), the primary way we did that was gift wrapping at Christmastime.

In Portland, Oregon, and in other cities though it was founded in Portland, is a chain of superstores called Fred Meyer, and every year my group of Rainbow Girls set up a gift wrapping station there. We manned our station all hours the store was open for the entire month prior to Christmas. It was there that I learned to wrap Christmas presents. It was there that I learned to love wrapping Christmas presents.

Let me just say here that I was an over-the-top zealous Rainbow Girl. To say it was practically my whole life through middle and high school would be an understatement. I participated in every activity, including this yearly gift wrapping, and I worked every possible shift I could. I remember carefully watching some of the moms who were there with us. I learned from them how to cut the exact right amount of paper, how to line the gift up perfectly so the crease would end up right down the center, how to make the corners tight and professional. This was pure heaven for an OCD girl like me.

That was years ago, but my love for gift wrapping hasn't waned; it's still one of my most favorite things to do. Because I love to wrap, I wrap for pretty much everyone in the family. I wrap all the gifts I buy and all the ones Shulamith buys. Strangely enough, I even wrap the ones she buys for me! She puts them in boxes and tapes them shut (no, I wouldn't peek, but it's better not to create temptation), and then I get to wrap them.

So this is a picture of my tree as of today, with all the wrapped gifts underneath. I really just love to sit and gaze at it.

Other related musings...

Yesterday, I took a day all to myself. I like to shop just about as much as I like to wrap presents, so a whole lot. I left at 9:00 a.m. and did not return to my house until 8:00 p.m. It was such a super fun day. I went to both malls near our home, then to Kohl's, and finished up at Old Navy, Deseret Book, and Target.

It was crazy busy everywhere, and I loved it. The crowds make me so happy! When I look at all the people and all the cars, I think to myself that all these other folks are doing exactly the same thing I am, trying to find the perfect gifts for those they love. As an example, from the time I drove into the parking lot at Fashion Place to the time I found a parking spot there and exited my car was 33 minutes. And I didn't mind a bit.

I sat in my car and enjoyed the Christmas music playing on the radio. In that 33-minute period, two of my all-time favorite classics came on. When Home for the Holidays played, I was able to shout "He wanted pie!" as loud as I could with no one making fun of me, and when Winter Wonderland came on, I tilted my head to the right and put my hand up to my ear, and all was right with the world.

Well that was yesterday. After staying up quite late wrapping all the presents I bought (so fun!), I slept soundly. Church was nice this morning; I had the opportunity to read The Gift of the Magi aloud in Relief Society. O'Henry's syntax is a bit of a challenge, but I did my very best, and it was fun. The second I finished, I raced to the airport, where Isaiah had already landed, finally home from a 10-day trip to Dubai and Sri Lanka. So, so great to see him and have him home safe.

With that I will wind up this somewhat fragmented post. If you need any presents wrapped, bring them right over.