A couple of weeks ago, a Christmas present my daughter ordered for me in 2020 finally arrived.🙏🏽 It was a Kickstarter project that she helped support (Kickstarter being a crowd-funded platform for creative endeavors); she is very philanthropic,🙏🏽 and I love that about her.
Prior to ordering it, she texted my husband all the information to get his opinion and make sure it would be something I’d like. It was a ‘smart’ bird feeder called a Bird Buddy that would identify birds feeding at the feeder and even snap a photo of them from time to time that could be viewed on the Bird Buddy app. He texted back the reply that he thought it would be cool.
Because of supply issues brought on by covid, the Bird Buddy’s production was delayed significantly. To the creators’ credit, regular emails that updated the progress of the project were sent to our daughter, who then forwarded them on to both my husband and me.🙏🏽 All three of us were excited to get the news this past October–nearly two years after being ordered–that the first batch of Bird Buddys that included my gift, were finally being shipped out via UPS.🙏🏽
I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, my husband began to think of the Bird Buddy–my gift–as his, and when it arrived, he was SO excited! To be fair, he enjoys birds as much as I do, so I didn’t think much of it at first. I was on the phone with the doctor’s office when he brought the box inside the RV, so I was unable to say anything to him as he began unpacking my gift. In the time it took for that phone conversation, he’d unpacked the Bird Buddy, assembled it, took down the bird feeder that was already in place and hung my gift in the pear tree just outside our door. He charged the camera and when it was ready, completed the set-up. He was having such a good time, so I didn’t say anything about it being my gift.🙏🏽 To him, anyway.
I did, however, relay the story to our daughter, who in turn told our grandkids. Now we’re all having a lot of good-natured chuckles with this inside joke.🙏🏽 Everyone is enjoying Papa enjoying the Bird Buddy. Aside from the obvious, I told our daughter that as far as gifts go, she hit this one out of the park.🙏🏽 I have to admit, though, that when my husband downloaded the Bird Buddy app and named it “Dave’s Bird Buddy,” I was tempted to spill the beans. And then I needed his ”approval” to be on his account. Grrrrr. But I kept quiet.🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
At this point, it would take a lot for me to set the record straight, and really, of what use would that be? Keeping the bird feeder full keeps him busy, and he’s like a little kid at Christmas when he opens the postcards on his Bird Buddy app and sees what birds have come to visit.🙏🏽 Watching my husband’s delight in my gift is a gift in itself!!🙏🏽 I’m grateful for a good sense of humor!🙏🏽😄🙏🏽
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, and strife. ~Proverbs 17:1
