The greatest gift two people can give each other is their time.

I always make it my practice at various life events, holidays, seasons, etc. in my life to sort of do a review of my life, relationships, etc. For example, on my marriage anniversary I look at the past year and beyond with my wife and consider what I could do to be better, what I may have done wrong. etc.

Well, when this time of year comes around, I often think about gift giving for obvious reasons. In my review I always go back to my fifth birthday.....

There I was in Carvel, we all just enjoyed the birthday ice cream cake and me and all my little friends are sitting around and I start opening the gifts. Then it starts, the moment in time I dread, where instead of just smiling and showing joy at every gift and seeing them as the signs of kindness and friendship they are, I decide to say if I like the gift itself and if I will ever play with it, etc. The memory of that always makes my stomach turn especially when I realize how such words would make others feel.