Thirty Eight

Today I am thirty eight years old. Thirty Eight!!!!! I don't feel thirty eight. I keep having to say thirty eight to get used to it.
Thirty eight.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of getting older, I just don't feel older. I know I look older. I sometimes look in the mirror and see my mum (that scares the crap out of me more than actually getting old), but in my head I'm still thirty-ish.

(Edited: I forgot to mention. I felt a little old yesterday. I was driving Ardyn and a couple of her friends to a party, and was singing along to Lady Gaga on the radio. I heard something from the back seat and looked in the rear view mirror to see Ardyn and her friends whispering and giggling at the lady in the front seat singing. WTF!?!?! Apparently it's just not cool to have a mum who grooves along to the music that you like.

The best thing about it though, is that I now know exactly how to embarrass my kids. Hehe.)

But at thirty I had FAR less to be thankful for than what I have now. I am sitting here watching my two adorable princesses singing and dancing and enjoying their first day of school holidays, and they make me so glad for the last 8 years. I just got off the phone to the love of my life, and I am thankful that 8 years ago he asked me to spend the rest of our lives together.

I am thankful for my thirty eight years.

And to celebrate, I got a gift!! (No card Jane - did you really think there would be?) It is the most beautiful gift, but so not what I expected.

I few weeks ago Ardyn asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I mentioned a watch or a new lens for my camera. I was leaning towards the watch though. I haven't worn one since Ardyn was born, and I just find that the way I run around these days I'd like to introduce one back to my left wrist to perhaps stay on top of things. I always have my mobile with me to get the time from, but phone batteries go flat more often than watch batteries (especially when I forget to put it on the charger).

I was looking at something like this:

or this:

Something casual, yet a little bit pretty. Practical I guess, but still having a little bit of glitz.
But I didn't share my thoughts with Cal. In the past if he was going to give me something like this, he always had me choose it so he could be sure it was what I was after. So I didn't think that I needed to share with him.

But he surprised me, and went out and bought a beautiful watch all on his own. And now I am torn. It is a beautiful watch, but more delicate, and a little more glitzy.

He says that I can exchange it, but I would feel bad to do so. It's not often that he chooses anything for me himself, and I LOVE that he put some thought into what to get me. It is a beautiful watch, and I think that if I hadn't actually thought about what type of watch I wanted I would have slapped it straight on my wrist. But I think that because my initial expectations and this are so far apart...................................

I feel SO BAD!
He says that he would prefer me to have something that I would wear than have it sitting in my drawer doing nothing, and that makes perfect sense, but I feel as though I am being ungrateful.

Thoughts anyone????
If you bought someone a gift that wasn't 'quite right' would you prefer hey return it for something that was, or would you think then ungrateful?

If it was roles reversed, I wouldn't care if he returned it and got a watch that he thinks he would more likely wear. If I bought a girlfriend a (say) handbag for their birthday, and they thought it wasn't quite right, I wouldn't care if they returned it for a different handbag that they are more likely to use.

What I do object to is giving someone a gift and then having then return it and buy something completely different - like exchange the handbag and buy a top. It is something that I would never do. If someone has taken the time to think about buying me a gift, I would at least exchange for the same type of product that is more my style.

Does that make sense?
So why is it that I wouldn't care if someone did it with a gift that I have given, but I am hesitant to do it with this one?

Hmmmmmm. Too much thinking for this time of the morning.

I'm going to have another coffee and chill out for a little bit.
We are heading out for lunch today with some school mums (and their kids). An easy first day to the holidays.

Enjoy your day, and I'll enjoy mine.
K xx