Last Friday was Pete’s birthday. We had gotten him a used mountain bike with 24″ wheels for him, which is too big for now but should fit by next summer. It is a Trek, with front suspension and bar extenders, so it looks pretty cool. After coming home from work, I washed the bike while the rest of the family got the house ready for the birthday party. Before the party with his friends, we had Pete open his gifts from us. Inside, and unaware of the bike outside, he opened a 6-pack of “church socks,” a toy NC license plate to put his name on, and a UNC baseball cap. He liked the socks, the license plate was ok, but he loved the hat. He put it on, went to check himself out in the mirror, and came back very happy, smiling a big-toothed, goofy, Pete grin–happy and satisfied with all that he had received.
At that point, I was almost sorry that we were going to raise his expectations by giving him the bike. We walked outside, and he whooped and pumped his fist when he saw the bike. Still, the greater excitement on his part didn’t match the smiling contentment he had with just his UNC cap.
Update: Pete told Santa this year that for Christmas, he wanted to see an elf.