Thursday, November 08, 2007

Traveling Gift Shops

The last few weeks has been filled with early morning and late night air travel and way too many airport gift shops. Unfortunately, our souvenir collection mirrors the gateside gift selections. With a heart to find silly things from far off lands for my child, I have to settle for the shops in my travel path.

In our family room, A Dallas Cowboys football sits next to an Albuquerque coffee mug, placed on a table next to postcard of Indiana. On the couch slumps a kid in a Memphis t-shirt. Oh. I know. It's tragic. But, in the midst of crazy schedules and busy conferences, a regular shopping trip just never seems to work out. I will say, there are some pretty creative gift item producers out there!

Take the armadillo in a can. Now, that was fun. Picture the scene: A tin can with a cute label. An excited kid. The hand crank can opener sliding around the lid, and with the last shred of connection cut, pop! The lid comes off, and a stuffed animal armadillo pops out, welcomed by an excited boy. The best thirty seconds we had all day. I know that little toy is still around here somewhere...really...just don't ask me where it is...

You should have seen the stash I brought home from Guatemala! A flag, a shirt, some cool trinkets, some of the money they use, and the craziest thing: a Pollo Campero water bottle. The Guatemalan version of KFC, we ate at PC more than a few times. It was a cultural thing. I loved it. And, to show Owen the cute graphic of the "cowboy chicken," I stashed an empty bottle in my backpack. Would you believe that the leftover bottle is the thing he talks about most? Who knew.

Deep within my consumer soul, I'd love to simply buy a magnet from each city and move on. But, as a momma, will that really convey my desperate cry of loneliness I felt when separated from my child? No. Somehow the littlest choices fall short. So, footballs, tin cans, and other silly gifts will remain my mode of spoilage. After all, I am the momma. I love to lavish blessing on my kid...even if the mode of conveying love is a little bit odd...or comes in the form of an empty cowboy chicken water bottle.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home