NOT practical. But fun to try on.

The year Max was born, Papa Bill gifted me with a stock pot for Christmas. It was heavy duty – it’s heft told me it was made with purpose – with a thick bottom and non stick coating. It came with a tight fitting lid, was large and all sorts of beautiful. I was smitten at once. I beamed and oohed and ahhed and lovingly placed all my other gifts in it’s cavernous Depths.

“I knew it. I knew it!” Papa muttered and shook his head. “I’ve been right all along.”

When questioned about what he was talking about, he elaborated.

“My whole life I’ve heard that women don’t want practical gifts like vacuum cleaners or cooking pots. Folks say women only want lipstick or jewelry. But I knew that couldn’t be true. And now you’ve proved it.” He was triumphant.

I was, too. And excited. At the time, the Newman Center was experiencing growing pains. I was feeding 40 college kids out of the old kitchen and I didn’t have cooking equipment to handle the quantity of food that was needed. That stock pot was a dream come true.

To this day, if my 14″ frying pan is the king of the kitchen, that pot is the queen. I learned that practical and useful gifts are awesome.

That said, I was a little taken aback when Jac gave me a new set of bath towels for our anniversary last year. Granted, he also gave me a gorgeous pair of diamond-ish studs buuuut. . . towels?

They were so soft and fluffy, they felt as if they were made of fleece. Jac, the informed consumer and loving husband that he is, had heavily researched bath towels. These, it seemed, we’re the best on the market (for the price. . .) and we’re made of bamboo.

Bamboo?

Apparently, bamboo is a miracle fiber. These towels are just shy of heavenly. They, like my pot, are heavy and send the message that they are serious. The drying ability is remarkable. Mama Syd, doubtful about their fluffiness, remarked that they seemed to wick moisture away. Perhaps the most impressive feature of these towels is how they have managed to stay soft. And not just marginally soft, either. No. These towels could double as a blanket for a baby any day despite the number of times they have been washed.

I love them.

This morning, however, I was forced to dry with a regular towel( the bamboo ones are so nice the kids steal them for themselves after showering. No big deal, except they then leave them in a pile on their floor. NOT cool.). It was, I’m not kidding, like drying with sand paper. Or, at best, those brown paper towels one uses in a gas station bathroom. Far from a pleasant experience to say the least. It was then that I decided that these anniversary towels might be my favorite gift ever. Practical AND posh, something I use all the time yet didn’t know I needed. Extravagant (I would never have bought a fancy towel for myself. . . ) and everyday.

Practically perfect.

*Because you don’t know what you’re missing, you can find the wonder towels here. Ours are white, STILL, after daily use for a year. Amazing!