I gave my gift today. It went well. I did it at the end of the session. I had it tucked in my drawing folder so that it did not derail the session. As she was dismissing me, I simply said I would like to give you something. I gave her the matted picture (kind of felt stupid actually putting it in a frame--since that would imply that I thought it was good enough to hang some where..LOL). On the back I wrote which animal totem she represented and what it means to me. She didn't go wild over it (LOL), but she did seem to genuinely appreciate it. She asked if it was OK if she put it up some where for others to see. I said, yes but that she shouldn't feel like I expected to see it on the wall next time I came. I said that I just wanted to give it to her. I also gave her a card but she didn't open that--don't really know what happend to that during the exchange. I didn't wrap the picture so her attention when right to it... again I had trouble convincing myself it that it was worth wraping also I did want risk her thinking it was something expensive and rejecting it.

Overall I think if she looks closely at the gift, she will get what I was trying to convey. I also hope she appreciates what I wrote in the card--where ever it is, LOL. I think how I handled this shows some growth from last year. I rememeber this thread from last year. I was thinking...why the heck would I give my T a gift? What a difference a year makes!

My recommendation on T gifts is ... think small but authentic. If you give them something, give it from the person deep within. These gift don't have monitary value, but they are real. In my case, I hope the next time I frustrate my T and she is feeling like banging her head on the desk after I leave...she can pull out that picture and say..."this ego state is in there somewhere, I found it once I can reach it again."