I try to make a point of acknowledging those small moments in life that are meaningful, but happen so quickly or you think they are insignificant. Last night was a great example.
We were packing our bags our winter holiday in Singapore. It had been a super busy day at school and then a rush home and 2+ hours of cleaning packing. We were debating whether to take Christmas presents for the kids with us, leave them under the tree for when we get back in January or let them have them last night.
Oliver has been begging for a 3DS game system and the Pokemon Sun & Moon games for months. He eagerly anticipated the release of the new games on November 19. He was relentless, but we held firm. We don’t buy game systems for our kids because we feel they get addicted to them and do not do other things in their life. Since Oliver is absolutely obsessed with the Pokemon video series and cards, we broke down and got the 3DS and games. We were planning to take it with us and give it to him at Christmas. We gave Oliver and Ocean the books they wanted, for Ocean 3 books in the Dork Diary series and for Oliver, 2 books in the Magnus Chase series. When Oliver got the books, he was bitterly disappointed because he was expecting the 3DS. He was crying and saying that we didn’t love him. He wasn’t like a brat, but I felt, genuinely sad, thinking that we would never get him a video game. Yes, I am from the 1980s and still call them “video” games. He was on our bed inconsolable when I took it out of the suitcase and walked in the room. He sat up and I presented the game console, and the DVDs and he was in a state I never saw him like. I would describe it has half shock / half ecstasy. The look on his face and his reaction made all of the tears and months of hearing him moan and negotiate worth it. He was so happy, hugging us both! It was so cool to experience his total happiness!
So it was a Christmas miracle that “santa” came early and brought Oliver exactly what he wanted, and something he thought he would never get.
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