One thing is apparent after the holidays; I know absolutely ZIP about women, apparently. I have not the slightest idea who, or what to chalk it up to, but in a year, particularly, where I know that practical considerations are of the utmost, simply in the name of keeping things under control, I figured that consideration of our current state of affairs when it came to gift giving, would at least be taken as some indication of a hope for a more prosperous future. Wrong. Practical is practical, apparently, no matter what your circumstances; and if you think practically, you will be summarily dissed as a gift giver. And no amount of reasoning will repair the situation. The rest of the year, something done with a practical consideration will be taken at face value, but during the holidays, by God, you'd better break that pig and SPEND till it hurts.
My only thought at this point is gift cards, for everyone, forevermore. I'm done with the whole mental gymnastics of what will be perceived how. None the less, my spirits are still up, relatively speaking. And getting sucked dry on a regular basis by everyone who will, without question or complaint, get their money doesn't help matters. It's enough to keep you on an even keel, but there are times when it's more like sailing a Catamaran, where you're hanging off the edge of the boat to do so. All I can say is a fair number of the sharks, having been sated, have left the area. Falling in the water would still be dangerous, but I think I'd live; provided the alternate coercion was acceptable.

And at this point, of course, I think I'm less likely to fall in, simply because I feel like I'm doing a better job of hanging on. It's not without its pitfalls, which I know I've discussed before, but it's okay. There's only one thing that scares me more than everything I have to accomplish in 2008; another whole year of birthdays.