I don’t know if my kid is just full of integrity, or if not having siblings has kept her honest, or what? But when I was a kid, we tried to find our Christmas gifts before Christmas morning.

My brother, Jon, would just pick up a wrapped gift and magically know what was in it. The rest of us didn’t have his powers, so we needed to go on the hunt. Why, you ask? I can’t remember what we were thinking, but I bet I was just copying my older siblings! We searched high and low when mom and dad weren’t home. One spot I found was in the attic behind my dad’s writing desk. One year I found a Pound Puppy. I was so excited! But then, Christmas came and went, and that puppy never made its way under the tree. So I snuck back up to the attic, and it was still there. I figured they forgot. But how cold they forget?! I mean, we watched the TV series, we talked about them, asked for them, wanted them. How could they forget? Then another Christmas came and went, and it still didn’t make it’s way under the tree. What the heck was going on? And yes, I somehow managed to restrain myself. I was definitely tempted to just grab that stuffed animal from its hiding spot and act like I’d had it all along. Maybe I could just confuse them into thinking they had already given it to me! But I didn’t. I waited. And waited. And would you believe that puppy disappeared from the attic one day, and I never received it? I don’t know where it went; forever a mystery. I guess that’s my punishment for being naughty. But I learned my lesson, and now I much prefer to hope, wait, and be surprised. I’m trying, Santa!