And here is where my real story starts:
Amid my myriad of Clearance shopping trips to Target, I found a great little Winnie the Pooh treehouse set that I could not leave behind even though I knew we needed toys and more clutter like a hole in the head....not to mention that I already have a stockpile of future presents for him (bought on Clearance at Target, of course----current observation, I capitalize "clearance". I guess that's how grand it's considered in my mind, because I am a real stickler for proper capitalization). So, I brought it home. It was contained in a box with dimensions of about 24''H x 14" W and 8" deep. It ended up in the pile of debris living around our pool table, waiting for the illustrous day to be wrapped. It wasn't long before Aaron caught sight of the waiting item and began to show a great desire for it. One day I sat relaxed on our living room sofa when in darts Aaron, obviously with a mission, but also with a deadly 10" Ginsu knife in tow. That little bugger was off to cut the tape off the box and retrieve his prize! A few weeks later I found him running the same scenario, this time cutting back to a mere Ginsu steak knife. Finally some genius around here put the box up high...out of sight, out of mind. Well, this past Saturday, on a morning milk run, I couldn't resist the pull of garage sale signs. We ended-up at one and Sophie, Aaron, and I got out. As I pondered what was to be my loot for the day, Aaron walked up to me and matter-of-factly handed me his chosen goods (a Disney CD and gift wrap with tacky fish and sharks pictured all over it from the movie Shark Tale). My first thought was that he had lost his knack for picking out the perfect items for himself (we've shopped thrift stores together many a times and he always makes a pick that he ends-up thoroughly enjoying)...no way were we buying that awful gift wrap. The disappointed, and at the same time, determined look on his face made me think twice and realize that it was the perfect answer to his present at home getting wrapped; subconsiously I had already determined that he knew what the present was and I didn't really want to waste any of my nice wrap on it. We came home and commenced wrapping. He studiously went to work placing tape pieces all over it. The rest of the day involved watching Shark Tale with the present nearby, and then watching Shark Tale again, and then watching Shark Tale again, and then watching Shark Tale again. I know, you would think a group of seven of us would have better control over a little toddler, but he is adamant about DVDs and which he wants and also runs the machine like a pro; so before we knew it, Shark Tale was playing again and we all fell Zombie to its magic. At the end of the day, Aaron proceeded to carry his gift toward the stairs, wanting to take it to his room to look over. Next day comes and he's trotting it back downstairs for breakfast and then back upstairs for bathtime, etc. So, today the big day has finally arrived that he can break open the long-awaited gift. Before scripture study we excitedly offer him the opportunity...he wants nothing to do with it! He can't bear to ruin the wrap job. All morning he refuses to budge, and then insists we take it to the doctor's office as well. I drew the line at bringing it out of the car; it stayed behind and behaved itself (I think). It wasn't until the cake's arrival that he resigned himself to the excitement and opened the beloved gift. Then there was no looking back! As feverish as he was becoming he really dug in and enjoyed the fruits. Aren't birthdays the greatest?! (Especially in today's day and age where birthday spankings aren't all the rage....and the pinch to grow on!)
