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I\u2019m a great fan of gift cards. I don\u2019t use them for gifting friends. I don\u2019t use them instead of buying a personalized gift for someone with whom I have a relationship.<\/p>\nI\u2019m a great fan of gift cards. I don\u2019t use them for gifting friends. I don\u2019t use them instead of buying a personalized gift for someone with whom I have a relationship.<\/p>\n
For me, gift cards are mostly used to get something for myself. I would probably buy the item anyway, but it feels great to be able to plunk down my card at the register. I like knowing the value of the card, if new or the balance on the card if it\u2019s accompanied me on other trips down the aisle.<\/p>\n
TP or paper towels, birthday cards to keep in inventory, gym socks or toothpaste\u2026almost all my purchases of this kind come via Target gift cards. I order gift cards through my bank when I have accrued enough points from paying off my credit card.<\/p>\n
Occasionally, I\u2019ll receive store gift cards for a birthday, or have received Starbucks cards as a Christmas stocking stuffer or as a small token of appreciation.<\/p>\n
I was at Target last week and had a freshly delivered gift card in my purse. I didn\u2019t have large items on my list, but I pulled a cart out from the row where they were nestled into each other like Matryoshkas, like Russian nesting dolls, anyway.<\/p>\n
In the moment, I decided I needed a tall, fruit-flavored, iced tea and remembered this store had a Starbucks near the escalator.<\/p>\n
I started to rifle through my purse looking for any Starbucks gift cards that had gotten tucked away over the years. I\u2019m not a coffee drinker and don\u2019t visit outlets of \u00a0the ubiquitous green empire often.<\/p>\n
Maybe there was a half-used card waiting to be found. Maybe I decided to meet a friend at one or found I had to kill time at the cineplex waiting for the next show to start.<\/p>\n
I contemplated pulling together a good start to underwriting the purchase of a cold drink.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much do I have on this one?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled out an old card that might have come with the purse, proclaiming \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d in a pre-colorized \u201dit\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d font, and tossed it to the young barista standing earnestly behind the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve dollars,\u201d he reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake that a LARGE.\u201d<\/p>\n
They no longer had hibiscus but offered a passion fruit iced tea, which was quite refreshing. I didn’t expect to have such a sizable balance on the card. I was ecstatic.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always fun to go through coat pockets at the beginning of the fall season to see if they might contain change or small denominations of paper currency or even a wrapped cough drop \u2014 but this discovery had me over the moon.<\/p>\n
I like surprises anyway. I love free upgrades, or being the fifteenth caller, or picking up a great poster at a yard sale (even if I end up paying two hundred bucks for framing).<\/p>\n
I love the idea of provenance. Like the journey a piece of art might undergo to get to where it is, and who can claim ownership, right now.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nice to think that no matter the odds, some things are just meant to be. I suppose It seems crazy to get philosophical or romantic about a cardboard cup of a beverage, but these might be real feelings I\u2019ll entertain.<\/p>\n
I love the feeling of having an overlooked gift, something of value, that I\u2019ve had all the time but forgot was available. Like the magic in Dorothy\u2019s ruby slippers, it\u2019s incredible to remember you have powers or abilities you don\u2019t usually think about. All you have to do is open your awareness and ALLOW.<\/p>\n
But I think my biggest delight was about getting exactly what I wanted, a cold drink on a hot day. The card was not new. It didn\u2019t have a huge balance, but it gave me more than enough to purchase a large, cold, fruit-flavored drink on a hot day; exactly what I wanted.<\/p>\n
Having the clarity of mind to know exactly what you want and putting yourself in position to receive it is no small thing.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019m a great fan of gift cards. I don\u2019t use them for gifting friends. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9430,"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":[632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-blog","grateful-dozen-winning-luck"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n