A long time ago, in a land far away, Nate began the tradition of buying presents for everyone when he went on a trip. A tradition like that is one that will not fade quickly, it MUST carry on! In fact, it has been clear from the second trip on, that presents were clearly expected to pop out of a backpack or suitcase upon arrival.
Hugs were cut just a wee bit short and a not so subtle glance around to see, “Could he/she have pulled out my present during that hug?”
“Is my present in the suitcase?”
“Backpack?”
“Purse?”
“It’s in the suitcase, right?”
“Where is…”
When I go to Dallas, I don’t always have time to shop. I know…I’m at Market and all, but you can’t really buy things and take them home, you have to order them and WAIT. So I usually avoid that and either go to a mall or hit the airport up for their goods.
The last time, I decided I wanted to order something fun from the showroom I work in…order something that would be worth the wait…
I even let the kids know before I came home that I wouldn’t have anything with me, but it would be arriving in a box before too long. As you can guess, Indigo is the one who is all about it now…although, don’t let Greyley fool you, she’s into it too…and she certainly had her heyday of, “Is something in there for meeee?”
Well, Indigo got the memo, but it didn’t quite sink in. He could not BELIEVE that I didn’t actually have something tangible for him to HAVE right when I got home. And when I think about it, I don’t really blame him. I was gone a long time, he missed me…he needs a little prize. Right?
He thought so.
I said…on the 3rd, 4th and 5th day that the box didn’t come, “It will come and you’re gonna LIKE it.”
Well, by the 7th day, I was saying, “So you mean you’d rather I buy a cheap little tacky toy from the AIRPORT just so you’d have something right when I get home, huh.”
And he said, “Yes.”
It just so happens that the box for them came the day I left for Arkansas and they loved their sock monkeys (stuffed sock monkeys AND sock monkey BACKPACKS!) very much. But then when I came home from Arkansas, I knew I had to have something right away and I hadn’t been to the store at all, not even once. Even the gift shop at the hospital was closed when I finally found it and then closed the next 3 days because of the July 4th holiday…
Well, if you can even believe it, Arkansas AND St. Louis both have nice airport shops. I was halfway hoping to bring something tacky just to prove my point, but no…no, I found the BEST GIFTS EVER.
Why, yes, that’s the Razorbacks’ snout!
And what is that on their shoulders, you ask? Why, that’s a shoulder pet, of course! I didn’t know it, but Indigo has been wanting a shoulder pet, like, his whole LIFE and it’s the BEST PRESENT HE’S EVERRRR GOTTEN and he loves it more than a DS or even a 100 DS’s and even Wii too…
The way he’s played with that thing, I almost believe him!
Thank God for airport gift shops. They saved my life. Find one near you and you, too, can have children like this…