Delayed Gratification

I am the sort of grinch who makes my family wait (patiently) until December 1 before carols and decorations can be unearthed, eat their vegetables, say please and thank you AND wait until their birthdays before they can open their presents.

Its a gift that I have and, while not always appreciated at the time, it is darned well appreciated by the day of the actual birthday *.

Paris is having her birthday on 21st December.  Yes, that is correct, the Mayans knew that she was going to turn 3 and stopped their calendars for the occasion **.

While I have stipulated, it does not mean that the grey area around the "wait until your birthday before you can open your presents" proclamation cannot - and does not - get thoroughly investigated here in Paradise.

However, when we have loved ones living far, far away *** who send gifts in boxes with lots of foam peanuts, the sting from the whole command dissolves.

For what is a box, if it is not a car, what are foam peanuts if not art materials - and what is a sister, if not a magician?

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* Disclaimer - this is in no way proportional to the disappointment to seeing that the whole inventory of Toyworld is not awaiting them as requested on perusing the brochures.

** Obviously quite prescient, those Mayans - she is already turning on a few little tantrums that require "time out" - I wonder what the Mayans see when they decreed such a complete time out!!

*** who are far more organised than I and therefore have enough little ducks lined up to ensure that present arrival date is less than birthday date - a trick that thus far eludes me...