Gift guilt

It's a bear.

This guy doesn’t seem to have gift guilt…

It's happened again.
I've come down with
   gift guilt.
(Not as appealing as
   gift gelt, sadly.)
The wife sits,
Wrapping and writing,
Making spirits bright
For our little one,
Her caregivers,
And anyone else
   who's touched our lives
   in the past year.
While I sit
Writing, not wrapping.
Watching Miracle on 34th Street
   for the first time.
Where a man lights up a cigarette
Before getting into bed,
A girl blows Bazooka bubbles in bed,
In the face of common sense (and dental hygiene).
(Perhaps they will have gum guilt in the new year.)

The burden of gift giving:
   thinking, finding, buying, wrapping, giving
Is never evenly borne.
Inevitably, she bears the lion's share.
And I nod in approval
   when asked my opinion.
Maybe next year
My Jewish gift guilt
Will propel me to be
   a better gift-getter and -giver.

❤️
Adam

P.S. See you Friday for a special highlight show from our 2025 live broadcasts. 🙂

If you’re having gift guilt of your own, gift the gift of the book:

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