It Was the Thought that Counted… And the Thought Was Really Awesome

Posted on February 1, 2012 3 Comments

I have too many first cousins to count. They live all over the U.S., from our hub in Chicago to New York, to Houston, to Upper Peninsula Michigan, to Idaho and everywhere in between. We mostly use Facebook to stay in touch because now we see each other in person all together maybe once per year.

One of those cousins on my dad’s side turned 40 yesterday. He had to work a long second shift, so there wasn’t a big celebration planned, just a series of small ones.

For instance, his wife enlisted 18 of us to “text message mob” him starting at 7:00 p.m., Central Time, with the words to God Bless America (… erm, it’s my cooky family’s official anthem that is sung yelled LOUDLY at every gathering, birthday, wedding, graduation, etc.). We gave him this text barrage, at no cost to any of us, from every corner of the United States:

Text messages from all over the US, a free and nifty B-day present

Though some of the times were off, it basically worked. It definitely brought a smile to his face, which was the goal.

With a family this big, a “gift” line in my monthly (yes monthly) budget, is a must. But this was a great example of a gift that really brightened my cousin’s birthday and was special because of the thought that went into it, not the money that was spent on it. Kudos to his wife for thinking it up, she’s a total mastermind.

But even better, perhaps than the gift itself? The barrage of “behind the scenes” messages that were sent between 18 cousins for roughly 12 hours prior to the “birthday ninja” execution to get everyone on the same page, focusing on the same time zone, the same day part (apparently moms of small kids easily misread p.m. for a.m.), and the same message.  I was laughing out loud all day, and once he received the texts he got to see the back-and-forth as well. So flippin cool.

So the next time you’re in need of a gift to celebrate a birthday for a faraway friend or just cheer up somebody in need, try coordinating an 18-person text mob. It’s guaranteed to make everyone involved smile, and all for free.

Category: Life
   Tags: gifts

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