I was only 10 years old, but I couldn’t remember it any more clearly. It was Christmas Eve. I spent the entire evening doing what every 10 year old does on Christmas Eve, tossing and turning and trying as desperately hard as I could to fall asleep. I was on a mission because I knew that the faster I fell asleep, the sooner Christmas morning would be there. There is something extra special about Christmas as a child. You can feel it and taste it. It’s magical.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up and jolting out of bed at the realization that it was finally time! We had a long standing Christmas morning ‘rule’ in our house when it came to opening gifts. We would all take turns, one person at a time, opening a gift so that everyone could enjoy the surprise on their face. It was finally my turn and I opened up a gift from my brother. That’s when my heart sank a little bit. I tried to disguise it as best as my 10 year old self could, but I didn’t put on a stellar performance. You see, I had a GameBoy at the time. The O.G. of handheld gaming systems. It was a huge brick. It was heavy. It was pixelated in black and white. But it was the coolest thing any kid could have. So when I opened my brother’s gift to find he had bought me Donkey Kong for the wrong gaming system, I was highly disappointed. Looking back now, I remember wondering how in the world my older, more technologically advanced brother screwed up on that one, but I guess naivety is strong at that age! Little did I know the joke was really on me!
On the next turn, I was handed a pretty good sized package. The kind that really get you excited. They make your mind run circles at the wonder of what could be inside. I began to tear back the paper and instantly realized there really had been no mistake at all. I had been fleeced by my own family! My parents had given me the one thing that I longed for with a passion only Ralphie could have matched with his desire for a BB gun!
It was the most advanced gaming system on the market in 1997.
The Nintendo 64!
But being fooled isn’t what made this Christmas one of my most memorable! What made is memorable was the reaction and display that I put on for the entire family. Apparently, it was worth an Oscar! Hey, I couldn’t help myself!
“MY HEART’S DESIRE!!” I screamed, while hugging the package and rolling around on the floor!
Yeah – it was that good. Looking back, it’s really too bad there wasn’t a video camera around, because it would have been a great candidate for America’s Funniest Videos. Needless to say, I was ecstatic about that gift, and it remains a favorite story of mine to tell at Christmas!
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