Matt and I registered at Macy’s for our wedding gifts. I remember going with him to register. He was definitely into choosing all the things we wanted to furnish our house with, but I knew what I liked and considered the aesthetic choices to be left up to me for the most part. That is, Matt had veto power and went along with the rest. However, when it came to choosing flatware, I was completely overwhelmed with the choices and had very little sense of what I liked. Matt surveyed the field briefly, chose the Gorham Melon Bud pattern, and I went along with it. I don’t think that I would ever have chosen this pattern if left to myself. At the same time, it is beautiful and I have always been very happy with it.

I was thinking about this memory this Thanksgiving as I was eating with my parents’ flatware. On the one hand, it seems silly to be so particular about flatware. On the other hand, I have been eating with my Gorham Melon Bud for fifteen years and they are very special to me. They are special because Matt chose them so easily and with such good taste, and special because they are somehow wonderfully orthogonal to what I would have ever expected to be using.