Recognizing Perfection

I recently attended a holiday soiree for an organization I volunteer for.  The kind of event where you walk into the room knowing almost everyone.  Some being people you truly enjoy, some barely acquaintances, and others you'd be just fine not seeing at all.  Surely an opportunity for growth must exist in such settings.  And, sometimes, you happen to be in just the right place, at just the right time, and have just the right number on your ticket for the gift exchange.  This was just that kind of evening.  I didn't know it, but it was going to be a perfect night.

I had made "peace" with a past lover and finally felt comfortable sharing space with him after 3+ years.  I invited a good girlfriend to be my "date" and enjoy the nice dinner and festivities with me.  I brought a "not too terrible" gift for the mystery gift exchange and remembered how much fun the gift exchange had been at last year's event.  I had drawn the #1 ticket so I got to make the last gift exchange of that night and took home a 2010 Buddy Guy guitar pick tastefully enclosed in a ring box.

The dinner was excellent, even though it took over and hour to be served after we ordered our food.  Bought a pitcher of Porter and told my old friend he owed me $8 for half of it, which he readily forked over.  We both enjoy the dark beers, so I knew he wouldn't put up much of a fuss.

The gift exchange began as we were being served dessert.  Several  fun gifts were opened.  My "date" ended up with a very classy pair of 420 friendly sunglasses, which looked positively stunning on her.  A lucky guest got the 2011 Buddy Guy pick.  Another friend got a very cute knit hat with little ears on it.  My "date" had brought a gag gift.  It was so much fun to see the folks who got her gift having so much fun with it.  It was a big old stick on mustache and a drinking straw that looks like an elephant's truck.  I ended up with a glass figurine.  A life sized figurine of a squirrel, a girl squirrel with long eyelashes and all.  It was the perfect thing for me to get that night.

Why?

Because my friend Laurie is a card-carrying 'friend of the squirrels.'  She takes pictures of them, she feeds them, she names them.  She is the squirrel lady of Eugene.  Not that she's nuts or anything, so don't go there.  ;-)  So my "date" and I drove straight to Laurie's house after the party and I bestowed the squirrel to her as my Christmas gift to her.  She LOVED it.  She plans to make cute little seasonal costumes to dress it up in.  I can't wait to see what she does for New Year's Eve!

The obvious thing I learned was this: we are not in charge, no matter how much we would like to think we are.  We simply are not in charge.  However, in spite of that, perfection does happen.  I believe our job is to learn how to recognize that perfection and then act accordingly.  So, keep your eyes, ears, and hearts alert so that the next time perfection happens within your vicinity, you can recognize it and do the next right thing.