{"id":1845,"date":"2014-12-29T07:31:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-29T07:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=1845"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:23:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:23:03","slug":"bright-shiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/bright-shiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright and Shiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lecrueset<\/a>It was a bit of a burden, carrying a half-wrapped box containing a cast iron pot home from a downtown office party on a crowded el car, but any other commuter on my car could tell I was so proud of my parcel. Despite being weighed down, I wanted<\/em> them to read the label on the box. Le Creuset<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Receiving the fancy cookware (in red, my first color choice) was a surprise — and yet not. One of the organizers of this year\u2019s holiday luncheon at the company where I contract most of my work got the idea that instead of doling out coupons or gift cards, wrapped presents would be given to every core associate. A few weeks ago, she emailed a catalog link to everyone. We were told to pick out two or three choices and see what Santa might come up with.<\/p>\n

Some people received IPad Minis and others opted for jewelry (much easier to carry home on the train).<\/p>\n

While I offered an alternate suggestion, I was really happy to unwrap my big box in front of the whole office and see the heavy oval shaped pot and lid. I had to wonder why the gift made me so happy.<\/p>\n

Okay, I\u2019m not from a large family with a big Christmas gift-giving tradition, and I did get some extra pleasure from the whole ritual. The president of the company, wearing a red velvet Santa\u2019s hat, read out names on gift tags and individually handed out wrapped boxes. The gifts were given on top, not in lieu, of holiday bonus checks, and I didn\u2019t have to angst over getting anyone a gift and worry about choosing well.<\/p>\n

But I think the biggest pleasure stemmed from the fact that I always wanted such a nice piece of cookware, but probably wouldn\u2019t buy such a thing for myself.<\/p>\n

Yes, a Le Creuset comes with a lifetime warranty and can go from stovetop to oven to trivet in a buffet line, but spending in excess of $200 — for a pot \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t even think about it.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I posted about how charged I was when the local grocery store chain ran a promotion, You’re a Winner. <\/strong><\/a> They gave away different sizes of professional grade aluminum cookware in exchange for stamps customers collected based on cash register receipts.<\/p>\n

They were rewarding customers for their patronage. It wasn\u2019t as if they gave away the cookware for nothing. But when I turned in my stamps and got a wok (with cover), it seemed like an unexpected boon. I felt so lucky.<\/p>\n

This was different. It felt more like a true gift; something I personally valued and didn\u2019t have to do anything to earn. The pot was red, bright and shiny. It came to me attractively wrapped.<\/p>\n

I like the thought of entering a new year with the image of my red, enamel coated, timelessly elegant soup pot in mind.<\/p>\n

Trusting that the universe can give you something bright and shiny and new \u2013 something you might have not imagined or thought of getting for yourself is no small thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a bit of a burden, carrying a half-wrapped box containing a cast iron…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","grateful-dozen-surprise","grateful-dozen-winning-luck"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBright and Shiny – No Small Thing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/bright-shiny\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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