It's A Wrap

'Tis the time of year for covering those special gifts selected just for those special people in our lives.  Some gifts come in their own box, ready for wrapping, other gifts are squishy and need a box of their own, while other gifts come in containers that have no shape known to mankind and must be placed in a box that does not resemble the gift's odd shape.  Wrapping can be like a Rube Goldberg project, the idea of an over-engineered or overdone machine that takes a very simple task, accomplished through a highly complicated system. 

We wrap gifts differently depending on who the recipient is, don't we?  Take, for instance, the recipient who can sense, from twelve feet away, just what is in the package placed in front of him or her.  Try as one might, this type of person is not easy to fool.  You might as well put the pony in the horse trailer rather than hiding the pony in the SmartCar.  I remember one year when I gave my brother-in-law a flashlight for Christmas.  He was one of those individuals who could feel a package and correctly pronounce what it contained.  He figured out it was a flashlight when his fingers found, through the paper, the on/off switch. 

Then there is the blessedly naive recipient who is so gullible and innocent that it does not occur to him or her that the giver might actually try to disguise what is inside the package.  This type of person sports a permanent smile and would never consider trying to ascertain ahead of time what a gift box contains. 

Lastly, there is the category of my favorite recipient:  Children.  A child's joy at seeing a package is unadulterated and the exuberance displayed is contagious.  Children simply do not care if the package is wrapped in newspaper, the finest of linen paper, cloth, or butcher paper.  They just want to get at the contents - as quickly as possible.  They do not feign propriety and carefully undo each section of tape from the paper.  They rip enthusiastically and rejoice in just about anything that is inside......with the possible exception of socks and underwear - unless, of course, there are super hero or American Girl doll likenesses imprinted on the cloth. 

As for mine, please print the days of the week on my undergarments.  At my age and stage, I need all the help I can get.  I don't care what they are wrapped in.  I'm one of those enthusiastic rippers.

Ancora imparo