HERBIE'S HINTS
(named after my dad!)
My mom and dad had very different make-ups. My dad was very disciplined. My mom not so much. My dad would eat two pretzel rods per night until the bag was empty. My mom would eat the whole bag in one sitting.
Growing up, my mom would give us one gift a night for the eight nights of Chanukah. One year it was the 8
th
and last night of Chanukah. I opened up my gift and just looked at it. I didn’t know what to do: it was the same gift I had opened on the first night. In confusion I looked at my mom. She burst out laughing and said, “I ran out of gifts so I wrapped one of the first ones up and gave it to you again”. That was my mom. She gave them all at once instead of giving them one per night.
In the months following my mom’s funeral I have observed a change in mindset. I have never been a “Christmas shopper”. I always buy something when I see something I think a client or friend would like, I purchase it. I then put it in my gift closet at home or my gift drawer in my office and wait for the holiday to arrive.
Since July my philosophy has changed. I still purchase the item. I find that I don’t want to wait; I just give it right then and there. In the back of my mind I am prompted by a voice that says give it now – who knows the future.
Recently I found myself sitting next to a psychologist at a dinner party. I told him about this phenomenon. As an amateur psychologist I connected it to my mom. He agreed.
