A Quick Anecdote

In April, Sam and I received a wedding present in the mail. We unwrapped it to find a small, personal heater.

This, I thought, is a great gift; we've just moved to (what I consider) the north, and I'm completely cold-natured. Come winter time, I'll take this little guy to work with me and plug it in under my desk.... and I'll never have to debate my coworkers over the thermostat setting again!

So Sam and I stored the box under the bed with some of our winter clothes.

(Fast-forward to two weeks ago.)

It's finally getting cold here, and I remember my little heater waiting for me underneath the bed. Sam gets it out for me, and I carry it triumphantly into the office (feeling quite like the boy scout I never was). I open the box and begin to unwrap the first piece, never thinking it bizarre that a heater would come in pieces. I gasp.

Trying to process the little ceremic lid I've just uncovered, I unwrap the second item in the box.... a tastful ceramic urn.

Thoughts that occur to me:

-Where's my HEATER?!?
-How funny that this has been under the bed for months, and Sam and I never knew what it was!
-Gosh, this'll look nice anywhere in our house.
-I wrote a thank-you note to someone I don't even know for a gift they didn't give me! And now I have to write another one explaining all this!!

My coworkers got a good laugh out of watching me discover all these things; and I did a little research and found out that the giver of the heater is a first cousin of Sam's mom, whom, she says, will think all this is very entertaining. So no harm done, I guess.

Etiquette tips for the day:

When one is prudent enough to save time and funds by reusing a box in which to give a gift, one must also be contientious enough to note this fact on the exterior of the box.

When a note of gratitude is expected in response to a gift, the recipient(s) must take every possible precaution in determining the actual nature of the gift.