The Gift of Nothing
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
My dear friend Rushie Coughran and I have a pact that there is no obligatory present giving in our friendship. Christmas, birthdays and such are exempt from presents unless we absolutely have something we want to give. The only rule to the Gift Giving Pact is that sometime in the year if you see something that would be perfect for that person, you can gift it.
So after a late night of sushi with friends we arrive to our mother-in-law pad and to our surprise find a number of letters and packages on our doorstep. One specific brown package was addressed to 'Queen Aimee'. The only person in my life that would write that would be Roo. So..... knowing that I love children's books I open it to find this wonderful book from Rushie. The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell. 
It is about a dog named Mooch (Rushie) who wants to give his best friend, Earl (Aimee) a gift. It takes a very Zen approach to materialism and in the end Mooch gives Earl a box of nothing and together they enjoy nothing....and everything.
Just like our Gift Giving Pact, Rushie and I have enjoyed nothing and everything for all the moments of a significant majority of our lives. Rush, thanks for the great gift of your friendship... and a great book! We're going on 12 years now!
2 Comments:
I love that Aim, Cami and I have morphed into this as well realizing that we hate shopping for and receiving an obligitory gift. Blah. I am going to have to pick that book up, and what a fun surprise to come home to!
yay -- so glad you liked it! i almost died when sarah bought it for conner's birthday -- it was sooo cute and perfect for us! yay for earl and mooch, and friends like you. xoxoxox.
:) roo
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