The Grinch????...

Well I hope this isn't a prelude to Christmas Day. My sister sent a few packages to the boys - most of them "just because" & then 2 were Christmas presents. She happened to call today also and said "oh let them open them now...don't wait until Christmas". She did add (for me only) that it was primarily clothes & she knows boys don't necessarily like clothes. BUT, I still was majorly disappointed with Matthew's response. But I am getting ahead of myself.

So after Patrick & I picked Matthew up from his afternoon art class at 5:00, we came home & I let them open the packages. The first was a big box with items for both. A few really beefy, cozy pull over shirts from & some rugby-type shirts for Matthew all from GAP. Sweater & long sleeve polo from GAP for Patrick. A cute Gund duck for Patrick. A t-shirt FROM the last race of the NASCAR season - The Chase (my sister had a colleague who had to attend the race since her husband's company is a sponsor & my sister specifically asked her to get Matthew a shirt to bring back). It is a great shirt that says "Season Final". She also added her trackside pass with the holder. Matthew was lukewarm. This disturbed me. I went out of my way to say "did you notice that this shirt is from THE actual race...not a store??". Still lukewarm.

Then the next two boxes held a Christmas present each - now let me preface this by saying my sister is sometimes "out of touch"...I don't mean that in a psychiatric sense, etc. LOL! I just mean sometimes my sister "thinks" someone will love & appreciate her ideas or actions while most people would think - huh?? Example. When my Mother was ill with cancer & family was coming to visit, my sister came and decided that the best thing to do was to faux paint the ceiling of the bathroom. When Matthew was born my sister bought him a sterling silver baby rattle - I don't mean like the decorative kind you put on a shelf. It was meant for a baby to use. It weighed a ton, literally. She said "I envision him using it when you go to dinner parties" (dinner parties???) I envisioned it being dropped on my foot. So that is my sister. She is an artist & has been a Director of a several Modern Art Museums for decades.....what can I say....that's just her.

So anyway, the last packages. Matthew opened his - a leather jacket. I don't mean a "pretend play" leather jacket. I don't mean a leather jacket like you'd buy at the Babies R Us (I have seen them there). I mean a butter soft, rough & rugged GORGEOUS leather jacket. It is from a store in the mid-west - Von Maur - they have the full time pianist...it is that kind of store. LOL. So Matthew says "THIS is my Christmas present????". Part of me SO wanted to laugh out loud. It was so "A Christmas Story". Then he scowls and stares at it. Then Patrick opens his. Same jacket in a smaller size. What does Patrick do? Scowls and says "What dat?". Yes, I do realize they are boys and I do realize they are 2 & 5. But I was very unhappy. I gave a controlled-within reason talk about how Aunt Martha really put a lot of thought into what she bought & she thought you'd like them & we all remember that we are thankful for the wonderful people in our lives that think about us & love us. I had to force the jackets on them to take a forced photo. Oh dear. My, my, my. I would LOVE if someone would buy me a butter-soft leather jacket! Hello? Are you listening out there? My response won't be Grinchy either!


Addendum: Well I was feeling badly that my sister had spent all that money on leather jackets & then my husband came home and, after inspecting the jackets, proceeded to tell me "don't you know those aren't leather?" Now, no I am not a leather dummy - he didn't know either until he searched for the materials tag. They are faux leather but let me tell you - they are dern good fauxs! So I feel a tad better - but I know from the store she bought them, faux or no faux..they were pricey. Von Maur is equivolent to Nordstrom. Don also talked the jackets up big & told the boys how they were "cool guy" jackets - like pilots or something. All I could think of is they were like The Outsiders or something Nicholas Cage would wear in Con-Air. Not quite how I want to present it to my little boys - LOL!