Poor As I Am, All I Can Give Is Thanks (standard:humor, 902 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Nov 19 2017	Views/Reads: 1792/1224	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
No matter how much coin I have in my pocket, giving thanks is the richest thing I could possibly give.

It was a pre-Thanksgiving evening and the Gracious Mistress of the
Parsonage and I were enjoying some hot cider tea. Nothing goes down 
quite as nice as a hot cider tea. 

It was rather a quiet evening and I happened to glance over at my wife
and saw her staring into space as it were. It concerned me because I 
knew that's what she did when she was thinking about something. 

The problem that faced me was simply this. Was she thinking about me or
something else? If it's me, I'm probably in trouble. If it's something 
else, I'm probably in trouble. No matter which side of the fence I'm 
on, I'm in trouble. 

I was tempted to ignore the situation and continue the silent evening
but something inside me would not let me sit still. I don't know what 
it is about us husbands, we don't know when to shut up and we don't 
know when to speak up. If only we could do the opposite of what we're 
thinking at the time, we probably could get along much better with the 
opposite side of the fence. 

“What are you,” I asked her quite simply, “thinking about so strongly?” 

Continuing to stare into space, she was silent for a few moments and
then she said, “I'm trying to figure out what gifts we should get for 
our family.” 

Say what? I haven't even demolished the Thanksgiving turkey yet and
she's thinking about Christmas gifts. 

That is the way with my wife. She cannot let a day go by without
thinking of something three weeks or two months down the road. She 
cannot sit still and enjoy the moment. 

I, on the other side of the fence, am able to sit down and enjoy this
silence of the moment. I do not have the jitters to get up and do 
something. I have the calm, relaxing feeling of just sitting and 
enjoying the moment. 

I knew what was going through her mind; all of the members of our family
and what they like to get at Christmas time. On my part, I cannot come 
up with all the members of our family without asking questions to 
someone across the room. I recognize them when I see them, but I always 
forget one or two when I'm trying to think about the family. 

That is the difference between my wife and me. She can keep a list of
the family in her head for months, yea even years and know exactly what 
they would like for Christmas and even for their birthday. I don't even 
know their birthdays and have to be reminded by my wife. 

Here we were, just a few days away from Thanksgiving and the wife is
thinking about Christmas. 

It seems to me that there is a reason why Thanksgiving comes before
Christmas. Thanksgiving is a time that we give thanks sometimes for the 
turkey in front of us. Sometimes, for the turkey in the family, if you 
know what I mean. 

I said very cautiously to my wife, “Just relax and enjoy the evening and
wait until after Thanksgiving to work on your Christmas list.” 

She came down out of her staring across the room and began staring at me
one of those stares that I've experienced so many times in life. “I 
must,” she said most dramatically, “try to figure out what I'm going to 
get my family for Christmas.” 

I flashed a smile back at her and cuddled up to the silence for a few
more moments. 

One thing I can say about her, she is very generous when it comes to
giving, especially at Christmas time. 

As for me, my focus is on Thanksgiving. It's coming up very shortly and
when it does, I want to be ready to enjoy every bit of that 
Thanksgiving dinner. I know that around the table will be a variety of 
family members. I know that some of them will be very chatty about 


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