The Gift That Keeps on Giving

So my brother and sister-in-law’s 37th anniversary gift to us arrived the other day (our anniversary was in late January, for those who care. Bernie and Annette’s gift was on back order, or so they said, but still managed to come before our gift to them for their 40th anniversary last November has even been selected, their having rejected spa treatment certificates during a recent vacation in Atlantis).

Anyway, their gift arrived—a practical and much-needed pressure washer—just in time for an application prior to Passover guests showing up on our walkway and doorstep that were in dire need of cleaning the accumulated detritus of 26 years, or ever since we moved into our current abode.

I don’t think they were sending me a message. They’re too polite to admit otherwise. And subtlety was never one of their strong suits. Let’s take it as simply picking out a gift that we didn’t have. After all, after 37 years of marriage, it’s hard to select something we don’t already have (that’s why it’s been even harder to pick out their 40th anniversary present!).

So there I was on Friday afternoon spraying the living daylights out of the dirt and scum on our brick walkway and porch. It’s a marvelous machine, but then I got to wondering, why is it that their gift cost me money (I had to buy an outdoor extension cord) and why is it that their gift tired me out. I was pooped after spraying for more than an hour.

Next time they come up with a practical gift idea, I think I’ll ask them to pay for a service to do the heavy lifting. It’s not that I’m ungrateful, but now that I have the pressure washer equipment, Gilda already has lined up other tasks for me—the side patio, the garage door...

Thanks a lot, Annette and Bernie.