Leafy suburban paradise

     Whew, the heavy lifting is over. Hanukah and Christmas, with all the latke making and tree trimming, forced feasting and gifts, given and received. With only the hoop of New Year's Eve to jump through — don't drink and drive and the rest will work itself out. 
      I wrote recently about how hard it is to give gifts. "Part mind-reading, part scavenger hunt, part potlatch," that last word being an Inuit celebration where you burn or give away your possessions as a sign of status. 
     But getting gifts is also problematic. You have to feign enthusiasm, usually. A sour face and "Shit, what am I supposed to do with that?" just won't serve. Then put the new prize somewhere — directly in the garbage is rude, though I have been tempted. 
     I'm particularly difficult to buy for, because I truly want nothing, and more and more view possessions as burdens that I would gladly dispose of if only I could. 
     So kudos to my younger daughter-in-law, the doctoral student, who managed the neat trick of giving me a present I actually was glad to receive, the above t-shirt for Hanukah. I have a lifetime's worth of graphic t-shirts and would never consider buying another. But this one is special — can you see why? "LEAFY SUBURBAN PARADISE," my longtime trope, like Homer's "wine dark sea," used to describe my hometown. She heard it, or read it, and took the time and expense to create this piece of custom apparel. 
     That really is the key to present-giving —not cost, not even aptness, so much as pre-meditation. We want our loved ones to think of us, and she certainly has. 

     You know, I thought I really grabbed the brass ring of life with my magnificent wife and two sturdy, smart sons. But the arrival of two caring and resourceful, kind and funny daughters-in-law, well, I'm a rich man indeed, particularly when you factor in the grandbabe. It's good that discretion forbids me from writing about her because otherwise I'd rarely write about anything else.

    Anyway, forgive my bragging a bit. If Northbrook wants to commercialize the shirt, I hope they will reach out and we can discuss licensing fees.