Engagement Gifts for Guys?

Who has ever heard of such a thing? For my unmarried friends, be warned! If your guy is anything like mine, he may be expecting one right after he buys you a nice shiny present. Of course he won't want jewelry. It will be more much difficult to pick out than that. The engagement gift will need to be adequately manly.

The hints for a guy engagement gift actually started before our engagement. We were talking about our good friends Gregg and Taresa. The preemptive strike began -

Bob: "You know, Gregg got an authentic MLB Carlos Beltran Mets jersey from Taresa after they got engaged...."

Meg: "That's cool. Was it his birthday? Christmas?"

Bob: "No, Taresa just thought it wasn't fair that women get a beautiful, expensive gift and guys get nothing for becoming engaged"

Oh, that Taresa... :-)

So fast forward, we're engaged and I've forgotten all about the authentic jersey thing -

Bob: "You know, Gregg got an authentic MLB Carlos Bel...."

Meg: says nothing

Because at this point two things have happened. Bob is not very subtle and I know I have to get him an engagement jersey, but more importantly, I've now drunk the koolaid that Taresa drank and I actually agree that it is, in fact, not fair for me to get a beautiful gift and for Bob to get nothing for our engagement.

So the research begins. Where does one go to get an authentic jersey and what the heck does that mean? I go straight to the pro. Taresa tells me to purchase through the MLB web-site. This is where I learn that any baseball nut can purchase an *authentic* (there's that word again) jersey worn on-field by "the players for Major League games". But what's the difference between these really expensive *authentic* jerseys and the other ones? Taresa clues me in on the importance of getting the real deal after she inquired the same thing to Gregg's dad. He said that buying a replica jersey is like buying a cubic zirconium when you really wanted a diamond.

A-ha! Thanks, Mr. Schmidt! 10-4!

But it's not that simple. Do I get one with a player's name on it or personalize it with his name? Home jersey? Away jersey? Throwback jersey? This is all much too confusing. Does he want a Phillies jersey or a Giants jersey? He loves his Phillies, but has been glued to the television waiting for Bonds to make home run history and it just happened. Taresa brings in reinforcements - Gregg. I'm waiting to hear back.

But here's where things get messy. I go to Boulder, Colorado to hang out with my very good friend, Brie. My other good friends Kara & Jeff from Boston meet me out there. Jeff just so happens to be another baseball nut. So I ask his opinion. He says that it needs to be Phillies, but warns me against getting a player on it in case they leave the Phillies. Uh-oh. Jeff suggests a throw-back Mike Schmidt Jersey as well. Cool idea! I check my email and Gregg has indicated Phillies was the way to go as well.

But time is running out. While I'm in Colorado I get an exasperated call from Bob who happened to be hanging out with Pat and Erika that night.

Bob: Guess what??? Erika bought Pat a MOUNTAIN BIKE after they got engaged! Can you believe that?

Meg: gulp

Bob: I almost fell out of my chair!! Am I going to get an engagement gift??

Meg: Well, that Erika. She's a sweet girl.

So as soon as I get back home, I need to make the call on what to do and make the purchase before Bob flips out when he hears that another guy friend of his got a guy engagement gift. Throwback Mike Schmidt or Home Ryan Howard? A few more emails with my DC consultants reveal that they think my Boston consultant's throwback jersey concept is a really good one. This is not good because I need to act fast.

Ultimately, I decide to do pinstripes home jersey, Ryan Howard. Gregg promised me Ryan Howard will not leave the Phillies for a while so he can wear it and, to me, the pinstripes is just more classic. He'll get Mike Schmidt later because I still love that idea.

Before I can even get on my laptop to make the purchase, my plans take a turn for the worst. Bob comes stolling in, happy as a puppy, because the PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES are in town and we're going to the game. Yup. Playing the Nationals. This week.

Now, I couldn't possibly get him the jersey after the series. In my mind, that's just lame. He needs it now to wear it to the game. So it's back to Taresa because I need an authentic MLB Ryan Howard Phillies home jersey STAT - meaning, tomorrow. The game is 7:00pm tomorrow night, but I have the day off. The next morning Taresa polled the entire Schmidt family on where I could get Bob's jersey in the greater DC area. Modell's, Dick's, Sports Authority, Majestic, RFK shop, Orioles shop, etc etc. I call them all. No luck. They all carry just Nationals and Orioles gear (and the greatest team on the planet gear - my Red Sox, of course... :)

And this is where things take another turn and I officially loose my mind for about 8 hours. I don't give up easily and once I get something in my head, I'm gonna make it happen. After hours of research, I finally find a place that sells his jersey. There's just one little problem....it's in Delaware. For those of you who don't know the DC area, that's at least 2 hours. Without traffic. And it's now 12:30pm. I need to act fast.

I hit the road and I haven't showered. Luckily, my car is fast. This is not the first time I've sped up to Delaware. Coincidentally, we were running very late for G&T's wedding up there last year, so racing up to this lovely small state was familiar to me and my car.

I get to Modell's in Newark, DE around 2:45pm. I rush in and purchase the jersey. Success. But it's now 3:00 and I need to beat DC traffic back in. Bob will be home at 5:30 and I really want to be home first. I ask if I can use the restroom and the girl points towards the back. In the back, behind the athletic shoes, I find two young guys. I ask them if I can use the bathroom. They tell me no because they're doing inventory and there are boxes everywhere blocking the restroom. My eyes are all crazy now. "You don't understand....I just drove up from DC to purchase a Phillies jersey and I reeeaaalllly need to go the bathroom and if I don't get on I-95 in, like, 2 minutes, I'll never make it home for the game tonight!!!" They just stare at me for a second. I'm not looking very cute at all (remember, no shower). "uh, okay....just be careful". So I hop over boxes, use the ladies, and hit the road.

I get home at 5:00, Bob is home early at 5:15. I left the jersey in the living room to surprise him while I finally showered. I think Bob did a few laps around our 700 sq feet in excitement. It was definitely worth the research, the drive, and the two young men in Delware who think I'm a nut. I owe a big thanks to Gregg, Taresa, Jeff and the rest who helped me out with this.

He wore it to the game that night. I wore my ring. We cheered on Ryan Howard and the rest of the Phillies. I was a Phillies fan for a night and had a blast.

(disclaimer: this does not make me less of a Red Sox fan :-)