“Just rip it open!!” I said as I stomped my foot in excited anticipation.  My husband and I looked at each other with that silent smirk of – we did good this time.

When the package was finally opened silence fell over the room as the contents were being examined.  A heartfelt thank you was given, and the gift was gently handed back to us…

We never saw that coming.  How had we gotten it so wrong?   How could we have missed that he was a minimalist to the core?  When we thought about it, all the signs were clearly evident.  Everything he owned would have easily fit into a backpack.  If he even owned a backpack…   As his parents, we found pride in his honesty.

On his first trip home from college, we were shocked as we picked him up at the airport.  Seeing him coming up the ramp we questioned each other, “Is he bringing groceries?”  As he got closer we realized he actually did have a brown paper grocery bag under his arm.  The kind you expect to see celery greens sprouting out the top.  It was neatly folded to securely contain a shirt, a pair of jeans, clean socks, underwear, and a toothbrush for his 9-day visit.

During his visit, the grocery bag had become stained and tattered. We offered an actual suitcase for his trip back.  His response was, “This grocery bag holds everything just fine, why would I want to bother with bulky luggage?”    He now had it tucked under his arm to keep the contents from spilling out the gaping hole in the bottom.  Our teary goodbye turned to uncontrollable laughter as we watched him go through security with his “grocery bag”.  All we could say was – “Yep, that’s our boy!”

The following spring when we were visiting him we scanned his tiny apartment…  “Hey, where is that bronze statue we sent you – we don’t see it anywhere?”

As he was preparing our tea in his only cup, for us to share, he says, “Oh, I donated it…  but I took a picture of it first.  So, I kind of still have it.”

Okay – clearly we are slow learners.  He may never be ready to clutter up his space with useless stuff that we think is cool.

It is human nature to give gifts that we ourselves would appreciate receiving.  But, we have since learned that something we like may not always be the best gift to give someone else.

I did some research on gift-giving to a minimalist – one article suggested instead of wrapping a gift – to wrap the minimalist with a hug…  Seriously?  Hugs are awesome, and a common occurrence in our family. But, we wanted to give a real gift and a hug.  There has to be a happy medium.  Something they could use and something we would feel good about giving.

A gift card for dinner out or perhaps a second cup for that tea…?   Basically, if you have a minimalist on your gift list, my advice is if they have to dust it  – they probably won’t want it.  Consumables might be the best choice.

Although this sculpture of our hands was created to be his gift, it is displayed in our home.  We are glad it was so gently handed back to us that Christmas eve.  Each time I dust it – I smile, because of the memory, and for the love of our son.

Also, I found this bronze statue at a thrift store – it looks exactly like the one we gave him…  I am thinking it was serendipity!

We are proud of the man he has become and we still admire his honesty.

***
Please share this site with your family and friends!

Subscribe to get our email posts sent to your inbox so you never miss a post.

All photos, thoughts, experiences, and opinions are my own.

Copyright © Lost Mule Lodge 2020 All Rights Reserved