A Bigger Gift Than I Thought

I had fun picking Christmas gifts this year. Even buying for Tim was fun. He and I both are hard to shop for. We have all the toys we need and are very picky about our tools. Well I got him different cool lights, just decorative fun ones for his office and I took a chance and bought him a new toolbox. It’s turned into a bigger gift than I expected.

Tim had very specific requirements for his toolbox, not too big, not too small, not too heavy, not too flimsy, etc and I got it right, amazing. Yay, he really likes it. What I didn’t anticipate was the “tool catharsis” this new box would cause. He has pulled all his sockets from the various places he has stored them and is sorting them and putting them on socket holders we have gotten since Christmas from harbor Freight. He has been reliving some of his past too as he sorts them. Some were from his Dad, and my Dad, both are passed. Some were from a shed he helped a co-worker clean out, they were her father’s. These socket are more than just tools, they are important markers of his past.

When I commented on how much space the tools were taking in the living room and how I don’t remember any other gifts causing such a commotion Tim reminded me of the jewelry chest he got me. I hate it when he is right, and boy was he right. Several years ago he got me a jewelry chest for Christmas. I rarely get rid of stuff and some of my jewelry dates back to my early teen years, just like Tim’s sockets. Well the jewelry chest was a lovely gift but it was so big we couldn’t fit in the bedroom. So I bought new furniture so I could fit his gift in. There were other reasons for new furniture but his gift was the catalyst. I wonder if any other changes are in store because I gave him a tool box.