Most years, for my birthday, my in-laws send a gift check. The one stipulation they place on it (besides, you know, “cash it sometime this year, please!”) is that I use it for non-essentials. Most years, I hang onto it for a while, enjoying the feeling of it burning a hole in my pocket. Until I spend it, the opportunities seem limitless, and that, in itself, is a gift.
This year is a bit different, however. By the time the check arrived, I had a fair number of possibilities on my list. Even so, they are proving to have their own anticipatory pleasure built into them. Continue reading