Oh lord. My father also always seemed to pick gifts that appealed more to him and his impulsivity.
I got the vectrex too, and an Atari STM I think, it wasn't quite the same as an Atari STFM. When I wanted to learn piano/keyboard, he bought me a frickin keytar, a Yamaha SHS-10, instead of lessons or a simple full size like I asked for.
Instead of a gift certificate to get some clothes, he got me a gimmicky Canon SLR that ate batteries and that I couldn't afford to develop the film.
He was a very strange person. Sometimes incredibly funny and generous, other times hateful and selfish.
Edited to add: sorry for the trauma dump. I have no idea what point, if any, that I was originally trying to make.
Well I can understand your father better than you in this case. I bet time will come when you'll start appreciating what he did for you.
Fathers are not like mothers, dude... Geez - dreaming for clothes and not appreciating a Canon SLR instead.. The time and the maturity will help you appreciate at some point you've had an amazing father.
Added context: my father didn't pay child support. I wanted clothes because all I had was school uniform and old hand me downs.
I would have liked to have eaten something other than boiled potatoes and peas in my birthday. I would have liked to go to the ice rink with my friends. Instead I got a camera I couldn't afford to use.
What the hell does that have to do with this topic?
The problem you describe, now, is totally different and it wouldn't matter what the gifts were, whether they were things most people valued or things that ended up being flops or things you liked or didn't.
