Via 43 Folders, I read David Sedaris’s essay Memento Mori in the New Yorker.
Essentially, a wide-ranging riff, which includes a few paragraphs on the challenge of finding the perfect gift. Sedaris on the challenge:
Hugh thinks that lists are the easy way out, and says that if I really knew him I wouldn’t have to ask what he wanted.
I envision demonstrating my perception and acute empathy when gift-giving, offering the right item at the right time, exceeding even the unspoken expectations of the recipient. Let’s just say that is aiming a bit too high…so I will more often err on just giving what was hinted, requested, or leaves the decision in the hands of the giftee. Feels like a copout, but the stress of perfection sure takes the fun out of gift-giving.
The Sedaris essay, in case you didn’t already go read it, gently explores much more in a better written package. What I selfishly took away from it is only a nibble.