socks for christmas

By: Aubri Steele

Most of you might not know this about me, but I love giving gifts. Not Christmas gifts or birthday gifts, but gifts for no reason at all. Something you find by happenstance when you are out in the world; something for someone special, that really just honors your admiration for them and your relationship in such a way that only the two of you understand.

So, it troubles me deeply to know that I am historically the worst gift-giver to my husband, ever. And admittedly, it hasn't been a smooth ride on the giving front. Don't get me wrong, my intentions are good, but when it comes to communicating those intentions by way of a present, I am awful.

I still remember the first present I bought Cody when we were dating.

Being an Encinitas girl, I cruised down to Beads, Crystals, and More, and picked out this gorgeous piece of labradorite - about the size of a large burrito. Now, if you know anything about precious stones, you know that was a costly choice, but it struck me so powerfully and reminded me of the gorgeous colors of Cody's eyes. My intentions were perfect. I opted for a small brown bag so as to conceal the pricey gift and handed it casually to Cody at the beach...a proud smile consuming my cheeks.

Before he even looked inside, he hugged me with delight. "A burrito! My favorite!"

Open ass, insert head.

Luckily, Cody is more couth than most grown men I know and quickly shifted his excitement in the direction of the large stone that appeared from within the bag.

Missing Burrito 1, Aubri 0.

The next time I failed epically was one morning when Cody was making breakfast for our 3,207 kids. He kept complaining about not being able to cook all of the items in one pan. "Genius!" I thought to myself as I Googled some infomercial-born, one-pan wonder. I'll never forget his face when he opened the box.

Infomercial 1, Aubri 0.

The last time I struck out hard was Christmas 2019. I was now acutely aware of how incredibly much Cody disliked the feel of sand on his feet in the house. Don't even get me started on how it gets there, but I digress. Cody does not like sand on the floor. So, in typical Aubri-fashion, I jumped online with delight and ordered a Roomba. Not to take anything away from the product itself, but apparently buying your spouse a vacuum for any holiday is considerably frowned upon by everyone who has ever been in a relationship.

Sand 1, Aubri 0.

Fast-forward to November 2020. I get a wild hair and book flights to Waco, TX as a (very) early birthday gift to Cody. Now, if you aren't already aware, please don't jump to conclusions that involve David Koresh; there is a wave pool in Waco. Yes, waves. Yes, Waco.

Proud of my choice this time, I was sure this gift would get me out the five-year hole. I booked the resort and some time on the waves.

So off we flew, mid-pandemic, to Dallas.

Having landed fairly late at night, I ensured that the car rental would still be available to us for the hour and a half drive to Waco's surf resort, BSR. Cody and I picked up the car and headed straight out. About forty-five minutes away from our destination, I received a text from "the manager of BSR" who politely inquired about our arrival time. I proceed to tell her we are still a ways away. She responds quickly and tells me she will just, "leave the key on the counter."

I thought it was a little odd, but none the less we were on our way and I remained optimistic about finally defying my gift-giving reputation. GPS took us off the freeway and we quickly found ourselves on a dark, dirt road. Another turn later onto a darker, dirtier road and I began to sink in my seat. "Surprise honey, I'm getting you kidnapped and murdered for your birthday," I joked nervously.

One more turn down another dark, dirt road and there we saw it. Not a single light calling attention to it, the BSR sign. We proceed onto the (still dirt) driveway and found ourselves at the resort. There was not another soul, or light for that matter, on the property. We fumbled in the dark and found our way to our room where the key, as promised, was left on the counter. It was all a little odd, but I held tight to my hopefulness that this trip would win in the end.

The next morning, we awoke to a group of people on the wave. It was exciting to see the pool in action - but it was absolutely FREEZING. "Shit," I thought to myself, there was no way in hell I was getting in that pool and I was sure Cody wouldn't enjoy it much either. Every guy out there was rocking full booties and hoodie. Each could be seen shaking their hands between sets to try and regain feeling. Ugh. Cold 1, Aub...NO WAIT!! I'm not giving up yet.

Hours later Cody finally got on the wave and immediately I realized that this trip wasn't going to be a total disaster. There he was, doing his Cody thing, and absolutely shredding. It was so fun to watch him as he stayed out there for hours in the water. Making friends and fans; Cody was having a blast.

The last run of the night landed us well after our dinner time and with no restaurants open at the resort, I hopped online to see if I could get a pizza delivered. No luck. None of the local restaurants delivered to the resort. I finally found an Ubereats that would pick up a pizza and bring it out. Success, but now it was almost 8:30pm, the pizza arrived cold, and it was around 40 degrees outside. Whatever. When in Rome, right?

Cody showered up and came out to the patio of our room where I had set up two lifeguard chairs to watch the crew of young, talented surfers who had rented the pool for the night session. We put on every piece of clothing we had brought with us, wrapped ourselves in towels and sheets from the bed, poured ourselves a tequila, and sat eating our cold meal while watching the live entertainment.

Moments later, Cody looked over and said, "This is literally the best date of my life."

BOOM!! Ladies and gentlemen, Aubri is finally on the board!!!

And just like that, my streak of giving awful gifts, was over.

The next day warmed up and both Cody and I had time on the water. It was a blast and we vowed to come back, bring the whole family, and do this all over again.