Gaijin Perspective

George and I had a great Christmas together. We spent the morning opening presents. I called my mom and we opened her presents while we were on the phone. So it was kind of like she was here with us.

Later in the day, we went over to Christina and Tim’s house for Christmas dinner. We all played with their new Wii and wore ourselves out. In fact, the next day, George said he felt like he got beat up. His arms were so sore from playing the boxing game! LOL! Apparently he got quite the workout.

This was the first Christmas, since our 1st year of marriage, that we got each other gifts. Although money is still tight, we both worked very hard to save up enough to “wow” each other. George got me a Wii and I got him a sewing machine. Yes. That’s right. My husband wanted a sewing machine for Christmas. In fact, he talked about it a lot. At first I thought he was kidding, but he continued to bring it up, so I surprised him with it. He wanted one so he could sew on his patches, hem his pants, etc. And he could make some good money on the side by sewing patches for the other sailors on the ship. That’s my Georgie — always looking for a way to make money. :p

Sewing Machine Surprise

All through the holiday season George had been talking about wanting a sewing machine. And one day he was heading out to go shopping for one. But I told him that he might want to wait and see what Santa brings him. For some reason, he thought that meant that my mom was getting him one. For several days leading up to Christmas, he kept remarking that he was excited to get my mom’s package of gifts in the mail. But I am the one who bought the sewing machine for him.

So it’s Christmas morning and we’ve now opened all the presents. Being the grateful man that he is, he thanked my mom for all the wonderful gifts she got us. And my mom, knowing how excited he was for his sewing machine, asked him, “Did you get everything you wanted?” LOL! Trying his best not to show any sign of disappointment, he answered with a sad “Yes.”

After we hung up the phone with my mom, we exchanged our gifts for one another. And you can still see the sadness on his face after we’ve opened everything up and he has yet to receive his sewing machine. But George is still appreciative for the gifts he received.

Later in the day, we went to Christina and Tim’s house. And we all exchanged gifts there, too. Again, no sewing machine to be seen. After we’ve all sat around for a little while, Christina “spies” an extra gift under their tree. She picks it up and finds that it’s for George. Merry Christmas, George! You finally got your sewing machine!

A Wii Little Story

George has always had a talent for surprising me. Just when I think I’ve got things figured out, he comes out of nowhere with something new. And everytime I think I’m going to really “wow” him with something great, he manages to guess the surprise.

About two weeks before Christmas, George was on the phone with his dad. They were talking about the VA benefits that had come through for his dad. And Dad asked if George wanted him to buy us a Wii for Christmas. George replied, “No. I wouldn’t spend that much money on something like that.”

Meanwhile, I was thinking of getting George a Wii in addition to his sewing machine. This would finally be my chance to really surprise George. But I hadn’t decided if I was going to do it, as it was a lot of money. George and I don’t spend much more than $100, at one time, without discussing it with the other person first. So I was really wrestling with idea as to whether or not I should do it. And I figured that this was my chance to get some insight.

At this point, George has no idea what I’m getting him for Christmas. He’s completely convinced that my mom is getting him the sewing machine. For once in our marriage, I had him guessing. So I asked him, “Would you be upset if I spent that much money on your Christmas gift? Like if Igot you a Wii?”

Immediately, he was suspicious. “Why? Did you get me one?”

I was coy and told him, “I’m not saying that I got you one or not. I’m just asking if you’d be upset if I spent that much money.”

“Did you get me one? Is that what you’re getting me for Christmas?”

We went ’round and ’round for a while. He continued to ask if I bought one already. And I continued to be evasive and said that I wouldn’t tell him one way or another. I was so excited because I had never been in this position. George always figures me out! 

Side note: George has a tendency to buy gifts at the last minute. So I suggested that he hasn’t even bought me anything yet and will probably get me something on Christmas Eve. Apparently, that isn’t the case this time. George insisted that he already bought me a gift. But I still didn’t believe him.

A few more minutes went by and he was still pressing me about whether or not I bought him a Wii. And I still didn’t believe that he already got me something. Finally, he said, “Well, if you already bought me a Wii I need to know because I bought you one.” But because George has a track record of buying things late, I laughed and said that I don’t believe him. Then he told me that it was in the trunk of the car. And because George loves to laugh at me when I do silly things, I thought he was setting me up to run out to the car — all excited — only to open the trunk and find it empty. I said, “Yeah, right. Why would you tell me if you got me one?”

After much convincing, I finally believed him. And I confessed that I had notbought one. “George, you suck! That would have been a great surprise. I didn’t even consider asking for a Wii because I figured it was too much money. So I would have been astounded upon opening it Christmas morning. What a bummer!” George felt bad that he ruined the surprise, but told me that he got all nervous that I bought him one too. That means that we would have spent $500, collectively, on the same gift! Caught up in the moment, he wasn’t thinking clearly and was also afraid we wouldn’t be able to return one.  What a goofball!

And that is the story of how George spilled the beans, Christmas 2008. Ha, ha, ha,ha, ha!!! :p