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What Makes You The Most Remarkable Writer

Practice opening a present in slow motion, and you’ll see

Michelle Marie Warner
New Choices
5 min readDec 29, 2024

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Photo of a brown-skinned girl around 5 years old, with long wavy black hair, wearing a white dress, gazing with amazement into a small open present wrapped in red paper, with a yellow bow on top. There’s a blurry image of a Christmas tree in the background.
Photo by Sujitmanna78 on Pixabay

’Tis the season for sharing gifts. We had a low-key Christmas this year because I didn’t have money to invest. Still, I wanted the kids to experience the magic, so I had a few under the tree by morning.

My two daughters have distinct differences in their approach to opening presents.

My teenager Forest can’t wait to find out what’s inside. She sneaks peeks enough that I’ve reconsidered our family tradition of wrapping presents in gift bags.

By Christmas day, she already knows what she’s received because she looked in the bags. I know how much she likes having the thing, but I wonder if she’d enjoy the feeling of anticipation as well.

Sage, my 9-year-old, appreciates the element of surprise. I watched as she opened the one gift I’d wrapped in purple tissue paper.

I tied a red and white cloth ribbon around it, which she slipped off before ripping through the Scotch tape to the requested iPad stylus pack she asked for. Even if she wanted to rush, she had to get the paper off before she could figure out what I’d given her.

Forest takes after me. Although I see the value of taking my time to unwrap a Christmas gift, I’m an…

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New Choices
New Choices

Published in New Choices

Mindfulness, sexuality, and life experiences, all inform and reflect our choices. We write about life’s many choices and where they lead.

Michelle Marie Warner
Michelle Marie Warner

Written by Michelle Marie Warner

Grateful, sassy, sober GenX mom with plenty to say and enough energy to listen. Learning to laugh a little more as I age gracefully. Bring it on.

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