Highway to Happy

Weeks before radio stations start to play Christmas carols and even months before the malls start to get too crowded, I’ve already checked- out countless boutiques to find the perfect gift for Keng. Year after year, I never get tired of mall- hopping, and even bazaar- hopping until I stumble upon something that would surely make his Christmas complete.

However, year after year also, the quest becomes more and more difficult.

Four anniversaries, four birthdays, four Christmases, four valentine’s day, not to mention those special dates we call our own- sometimes, it feels like I’ve run out of creative juices to even come up with an idea of what to give him. The feeling’s often stressful, knowing that Keng never fails to discover what I secretly wish for yearly. It’s not that I pay too much attention to material things. I just want to give him the best, because he sure does give me that, too.

For our first Chritmas together, I remember giving him an oval locket. The next one, I believe it was a musical snow globe. The year after that I found the cutest precious moments wedding dolls and gave it to him. Last year, I bought a wooden doll house and decorated it as our own home. For this Christmas, there was nothing in any mall and bazaar I’ve visited that reached my expectation. Nothing seems to fit in that ‘perfect gift’ category. So this year, I will carefully wrap in gold and fancy paper something I’ve spent sleepless nights for; something no other girlfriend could give to his special guy.

For our fifth Christmas, I mustered enough confidence to put together something I feel would best express how much he really means to me. I still feel nervous about it, though. Yet, I know there’s no point in feeling that way. Because, in every moment I remember handing him a present, he never fails to flash that smile, which makes me feel that year after year, I’ve succeeded the quest of finding the perfect gift.