Gift-Wrap

My sister brought her boyfriend over for dinner tonight. This was a planned event and my mom asked me to make a baked ziti for dinner. I have to admit that I was a little surprized at Mom's request because she usually likes to control food for her guests, but I was happy to help. Besides, it's not like a ziti is much work.

This evening's visit from my sister, Cat, and her red-headed boyfriend, Mark, was not merely a social call. It had a purpose. Tonight's Mission: Christmas present wrapping. After dinner (and dessert!), my mom, Cat and Mark headed into the living room to wrap "Giving Tree" gifts.

This will be the first Christmas that Mark and Cat spend together and they have chosen to exchange gifts. Mark brought his gifts for Cat so he could wrap them. His wrapping: Tissue paper and a gift bag.

Now let me just stop for a moment to mention that Mark is a very nice young man with high intelligence. The whole family truly likes him well. He fits right in to our "too brainy to have common sense" group. So when my sister told Mark that she was going to "make things easy for" him, and then explained that the tissue paper for the gift he was bagging for her should be placed into the bag "like that," I was a little surprized. On the other hand, my vast (not really) personal experience with men tells me that men do not always place as much importance on learning how to wrap gifts as women do.

Mark took his gifts and wrapping into the other room to put them together out of my sister's sight.. I decided to follow him to see what was being wrapped. I thought it was cute that Mark seemed to be seeking approval as he pulled each of his three small gifts out of his shopping bag to show me his gift selections for my sister. But the absolutely adorable thing happened when he went to follow his wrapping directions.

He laid the tissue paper out flat and arranged it so the corners were separated. Then he placed all three of his gifts on TOP of the tissue paper, picked them up and folded the paper over.

"No," I said.

He stopped moving. Big eyes looked at me. "No?"

"No."

"But she said...." He began as he looked at the tissue paper covered gifts in his hand.

By this time, I was gesticulating as I searched for words to describe what needed to be done. He must have seen me out of the corner of his eye because I got out, "You need to..." before he confirmed, "Ohhh...."

Whew! Mission accomplished, we returned to the dining room and the company of the gift-wrapping girls. A few minutes later, when the Giving Tree gifts were finished being wrapped, Mom offered to help Mark wrap each of the gifts in his gift bag to my sister. Mark gratefully accepted.