My boss just recently went on a cruise and before he left he asked me what I’d like for him to bring back for me as a souvenir. Well a friend of mine from high school owns a car shop in town and I had to bring my son’s car in for repairs the same day, he knows my boss because they’re in a Krewe together so we were talking about the trip and the souvenir request.
I was explaining that I often have friends and co-workers ask me what I’d like them to bring from a trip. Btw, it’s always dudes, my female friends never seem to make this offer! But every time I think “why in the world would I want a memento from your trip to somewhere I’ve never been with someone else?”
I recognize that these are genuine offers of affection from friends so I never want to offend anyone and my response is always the same. “If you think of it, could you please bring me a rock? I had a rock collection as a kid and I just love pretty rocks from far away places.”
My reasoning is this – I don’t really want or need a t-shirt from places I’ve never been, and I don’t want to be beholden to anyone for anything. So in an effort to be a gracious recipient of a well meaning gift, while at the same time not being indebted to the gift giver, I always ask for a rock.
Well as I’m telling my friend this story he gets real quiet, and finally he says “I’ve brought you rocks. You asked for them.” And all I could think to reply was, “Yup, I like rocks!”
Photo Credit: ID 29341945 | Basket Rocks ©Nukhet Barlas | Dreamstime.com
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