Gifts

Giving gifts is my primary love language. I love giving gifts and receiving them. To me gifts captures the love and thoughtfulness of the giver at the moment of purchase and encapsulates it into a physical body. It sets the phrase "I was thinking of you" in stone and allows the receiver to recall this evidence of love everytime he / she picks up the gift.

However in our lifetime, we would receive countless gifts, some escape our memories while others will always be on our minds. These are "surprise gifts" and "first gifts".

First, I can't help to notice that gifts that are surprises usually stay cemented in the foreground of my mind. For instance, the card that C gave to me when I was sick in JC. It was given even before we were together, and to me it hinted that she liked me (*although I know it was not the case then) and that she cared. Whenever I stare at the card I get teleported back into time to my teenage years when the butterflies in my stomach would start to churn again.

Then there are "first" gifts that we will always remember. For example, my first birthday present was a tricycle that have been long gone. But I recall whenever I rode on it I would feel so loved by my parents. Then there was the first gift that I received from my best friend when I was in pri 6. Though it was a nondescript cassette tape by MLTR by it was that first gift made me experience the notion of brotherly love. Then there was the birthday gift by C which consisted of a big Blue coffee cup tat was handpainted by her. Until this day I have never used that cup to store any liquid. The only use I had for the cup was to stare at the paintwork and wonder what was running through her mind when the paint touched the ceramic.

Somehow, it is funny that we find it easier to remember the gifts that we receive rather than the ones that we give. But for those "given" gifts that we remember, it is usually those that were procured with monumental effort or those that made the receipient happy beyond measure. I will always remember the first CD I bought for C which cost me a week of my pocket money. And also the I will always remember the shine in her eyes when she received the little toys that I got for her as surprises. To me these are part of the countless beautiful memories that shape the landscape of our relationship. In turn, they create this picturesque scenery that just takes my breath away everytime I close my eyes and reflect about it.

C I just want to thank you for all that we shared and pray that God will continue to bless us and guide us in our walk together. And as you battle to meet the deadlines and the pressure to perform, may the peace of God be with you and whoever is with you in the room. That Christ's light will shine thru you and touch the lives of people around.

*Hopefully to cheer you up. Hehehe pootpoot!!!!1