Off to SF - Analogy for the gift.

Off to San Francisco for the weekend tomorrow after the San Ardo race. We'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary by shopping, spending money, and I get to race on Labor Day in the Giro. I complained to a blogging friend about the anniversary gift dilemma, and he asked "at what point do you reach the bounds and limits of thoughtfullness" when it comes to gift buying. I responded with this analogy:

Marriage is a lot like baseball. Beer and hotdogs make it palatable and almost enjoyable. No seriously, managing the gift side of things in marriage is a lot like a baseball game. Technically you have 4 or 5 gift-giving times during a year (aka "game"):

- Valentines Day
- Mothers Day (optional)
- Birthday
- Anniversary
- Christmas

Picture these times as "at bats". Just like the gift-giving for an average husband in a year, an everyday ballplayer usually gets 4 at-bats a game, sometimes 5 depending on the pace.

A great ballplayer generally will go 1-for-4, often 2-for-4, and sometimes 3-for-5. However, they will almost always put the ball in play and rarely strike out. Every now and then they will have a 4-for-5 or a perfect 5-for-5 game.

A good ballplayer generally will go 1-for-4 one night and 2-for-5 the next night. They sometimes strike out, but tend to put the ball in play more often.

An average ballplayer will go 1-for-5 most nights and occasionally go 2-for-4 or 2-for-5. They tend to strike out in streaks, a lot of K's in a short period of time isn't unusual. Other times they'll be lucky and have a good contact streak.

A lousy ballplayer will sometimes go 1-for-4, and strikes out the rest of the time.

You as a husband will fall into one of these categories. Me, I see myself as an "average ballplayer". Great gift-giving husbands / ballplayers aren't made, they're born. Either you have the talent or not. Hard work can help to develop raw talent, but if you don't have the eye for the ball/gift, you're generally doomed to toil at an average or below-average level.

almost done

the racing season is almost done. i'm exhausted, burned out, and ready to rest.