Stuff pops into my brain all the time that I think would be fun to explore via a post on this blog. In fact, when I first created my blog, I thought I would post some of those thoughts with regularity. That has not been the case. I suppose I could say that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” get in the way.

I think things that seem interesting or fun, imagine them as a post, and then---well, life overtakes me, and poof, my thoughts have moved on to other arenas and seldom make it onto paper. If writing was my “life’s blood” I do not think that would happen so often. I would at least have a little notebook of ideas I could refer back to when I was finally sitting in front of my computer and of a mind and mood to write. I think true writers almost HAVE to write no matter what mood they may find themselves in on any given day. This confirms I was not created with the title “writer” in mind! Nevertheless, when I do find myself in front of paper, I enjoy putting down whatever seems “right” in the moment.

Here is what popped into my head today. I was cleaning the bathroom, and I realized I missed putting away a Christmas decoration. It is a little thing that other people might not notice. As I looked at the decoration and pulled it from its spot, I thought how much I loved it. I realized this little item was one of my all-time favorite gifts. That got me wondering what other people would say is one of their all time favorite gifts.

I am not talking about those big things we all think we are supposed to say and may really mean—like the new car for graduation, the diamond engagement ring, or the baby or whatever. I am talking about those things, often little and seemingly insignificant, which people have given us over the years. We find we have kept, used, looked at, and gone on loving that item. I am not really talking about the memories associated with gifts either. Sometimes, we love something just because it has this great or tender memory associated with it. Today, I am really talking about the actual gift itself, about something that really pleases you when you see it or use it.

Here is a little more about my gift. I keep a nightlight plugged into the socket in my downstairs bathroom. It is there all year and stays on all the time. I like being able to open my bedroom door to the warm glow of the nightlight shinning out into the dark downstairs hallway. It comforts me. In years gone by, it was there for the children to be comforted.

Since this nightlight is always there and always on, I wanted some way to make it pretty. You see, I like pretty, so I am always looking for ways to “pretty up” even functional things in my home. I also really, really like seasonal pretty. If I had the time, I would still do what I did when I was an at-home mom, and I would decorate my whole house for each holiday. But that is another blog post. Back to the nightlight.

A few years ago, when the adults still exchanged Christmas gifts in our family, I asked for a pretty nightlight and mentioned that seasonal ones would be even better. My niece, April, had my name and made me some spring and summer nightlights by hot-gluing little flowers on the plastic nightlight covers because finding fancy, affordable nightlights back then was no easy task. The colors she used for the flowers matched my bathroom wallpaper, and I used these for a couple of years with pleasure. However, these certainly could NOT remain during the fall and winter because they did not fit the seasons! So my nightlight went back to plain, not pretty, in the fall and winter, and eventually the little flowers starting falling off the spring and summer covers.

A couple of years later, April had my name again, and amazingly, she remembered my request about seasonal nightlights. I opened my gift that Christmas to find an Avon box containing a nightlight and four different, very pretty ceramic nightlight covers—one for each season! I was truly thrilled with this little gift, and I have used it since always saying a little prayer for April each time I change the cover for a new season. I love this gift. It has remained one of my all-time favorites. It is such a little thing yet brings me a lot of simple pleasure.

So—how about you? I would love to hear about one of your favorite gifts.