A pretty good kid

Birthdays and Christmas can often be a rude awakening for parents. We love our kids. We want them to have a special day, and we want them to be happy. So, we plan, decorate, buy presents, and all to often, go overboard (feeling guilty about it as we do). And then, almost always, we don't get the reaction we expect. We expect them to be overjoyed, eternally grateful, and, at the very, very least, we expect their best behavior for the next 2 or 3 days. What we get instead... well, I'll spare you the details, but often, it ain't pretty.

Today is Anna's birthday. According to tradition here in Denmark, we woke her up with birthday songs, and the breakfast table was decorated with streamers and presents. What Anna really, really, really wanted for her birthday was a bicycle (she had outgrown the third generation hand-me-down bike she has now) . When she came down to the breakfast table, there was no bike there, but she didn't blink, she was just excited about her presents. The ones she was most excited about were the ones Emily made her. The rest were a lot of clothes that she was pretty psyched about, but the truth is she has really needed clothes and we have been putting it off until her birthday.

All the presents were unwrapped, and Anna sat there eating her breakfast. I kept waiting for a spoiled-rotten side of her to appear and say, "why didn't get a bike!" - but it never came.

Then, we found one last little present wrapped in wrinkled, green, wrapping paper, almost more scotch-tape than paper (it was a key to a new bike). We gave her this tiny little package, that looked like nothing. Before she opened it, we asked her if she'd had a good birthday, she said, "yeah". We asked he if there was anything she was upset she didn't get. Quiet pause. "No..." and then she added in the sweetest little voice, "but next year, I'm going to wish for a new bicycle".

I don't care about the best behavior for the next 2 days, that one comment made it all worth it.



Note to A&B and G&G: We haven't given her your gifts yet, but will this evening.