Negative Correlation Between Age and Birthday Gifts

When I was young, nobody remembered my birthday. Birthdays were kind of exclusive, ONLY YOU remembered your own birthdate. Haha! There were a dozen of us, so to remember all dates was not our major concern. On my 7th birthday, I kind of told my mum about it and she made a special fried rice just for me while the rest of my siblings ate plain rice. Share? Didn't think so! :) Though it was not a grand gift, the gesture was really nice! It touched my heart and it'd forever remain in my memory.

Time passed by and during adolescent years I envied my friends who got a lot of exciting birthday presents from their families and friends. I always imagined that I would receive a teddy bear one day though I realized it was a far-fetched dream for me. Sob..sob...But dreams do come true and I received my first teddy bear when I was 17. Yeah, it was too late for a teddy bear at that age but I was ecstatic on that day. My heart swelled with pride because now I have my own teddy bear. Don't judge! Teddy bear was something grand in my olden days. 

Then adulthood said hi and expectations grew. I wanted flowers, handbags, watches, shoes, jewellery on my birthday and thanks to Allah, I received them all. Alhamdulillah. I have no complains and I believe that my life is a good life.  

My next birthday is around the corner and my husband hinted to me yesterday that it has becoming harder to choose a gift for your spouse.

I could relate to him. There are several points to look at. One is the value factor - should this year's gift be more expensive than the previous year's? Another is the repetition factor - could you repeat the same gift you have given two years ago? For example, a watch in 2009 and another watch in 2011. Third is the surprise factor - is it okay to surprise her or you'd be at risk of surprising yourself because your surprise has becoming predictable? Fourth is the excitement factor - how would the reaction be, would I be seeing that fake smile  or is the smile really genuine? I don't know about other people but I am really excited when it comes to buying my spouse's gifts. Perhaps a bit more excited than him. haha! For those who care about our partners, I suppose the feelings are similar. 

So for my coming birthday, I plan not to give any hints so that he could 'suffer' in the process. Can? :)  One thing for sure, I love my husband with all my heart because he has given me the best gift ever, Tia Sofia... si kichik sikit and the gift of happiness.