co-workers and gifts

I don't send out christmas cards to friends or family. Which means that I don't distribute any at work either. Invariably every year I get cards from various co-workers. I've even gotten tiny gifts (e.g box of chocolates) from co-workers. This is such a nice gesture.

It's when I don't know the co-worker all that well who gives me a gift that makes me feel momentary pangs of guilt. "I didn't get them anything". "I didn't know we were that close". But I quickly mellow and realize it doesn't matter, this is who they are and they aren't expecting anything in return. Take it at face value and enjoy the care that has been shown to you, Jenn.

But then I think, gosh, should I make more effort to be closer to them? Is this an outreach to me? And then I have to mellow out again. This goes on in my brain for probably at least fifteen minutes after I get these gifts. But in the end, time heals everything and I stop obsessing about it and feel happy that even though I don't know this person all that well, I'm glad to be surrounded by kind people.

As a boyfriend from long ago said to me once, "Jenn, you think too much."

Does anybody else have this problem?

Posted by jennj at December 22, 2006 12:48 PM