Great Expectations

I think I'm either becoming a negative person or am becoming aware that I've always been a negative person. I don't know if others do this, but in certain instances, I expect to be disappointed. And I am usually right. But I don't know if this is because I am just correct about what is going to happen, or if my expectations are too high. 

Looking back, I know this has been true for a long time. I remember a time YEARS ago when I agonized over what to get a loved one for a special day. When I finally found the perfect gift, it cost way more than I could afford on a student salary. That was the first time I opened a credit account. The gift I got in return was of more, say, "practical" use, and I remember putting on a smile and squashing down the disappointment. In this gift's defense, I am still using that item to this day. But I just remember thinking about how I had put all this thought and time into the gift I purchased for him out of love, and it felt like he went about it in the "I have to get a gift, what should I get??? Oh, here's something she could use. That'll do."  

The payments on that gift lasted longer than the relationship, but I wasn't ever bitter about that. If you know me, then you know how much I enjoy giving gifts. It's my love language.

Last summer, my friend Beth gave me these awesome weenie dog knife holder thingies. You know, you put them on your dinner table and you lean your knife against it so it won't rest directly on the table. Her step-grandmother had given them to her, and she thought "what am I going to do with these," and then thought, "Holly would LOVE THEM!" And she was right. I love all things weenie dog, and if I can entertain with it, then all the better. I was even more ecstatic because she gave me something she knew I would love because she loves me.

How is it that my girlfriends always get it right?