The best reactions

With two kids, ages 5 and 3, it is fun as a parent to scheme and find things you are pretty sure they will love to open on Christmas. This year was like that for us.

About 10 days before Christmas we were out shopping for boring stuff like food, etc., not presents. My son and I were charged with buying a Christmas star (a tradition here among believers) to put up at our house. We wondered across the street to a shop that had a good display. While we were in the shop I was talking to the shopkeeper about options for stars, lights, etc. I felt a gentle tug on my shirt sleeve and looked down to see my son, eyes fixed in one direction, staring at something on the counter. His only words, said with a mix of pleading and a little bit of awe, were “Daddy, can we?” He never even looked at me, just kept staring at whatever it was that he was so interested in.

I looked to where he appeared to be gazing and quickly realized what had caught his attention. It was a giant airplane. Giant compared to anything he had ever seen. It was a 747 plastic model, with a wingspan of about two and a half feet. I causally asked the shopkeeper how much the plane was, and he told me. Roughly $8.

We left the store without the plane and walked across the street to the car. As we got in, my son once again asked. “Daddy, I can sit here SOOOOOO nicely and you can go get that airplane for me, right?” He was truly intrigued by that plane. I went back a few days later and bought it, hiding it in the bedroom to keep for Christmas.

My wife had a similar interaction with our daughter. While at a shop looking for a few things she saw a strawberry shaped pillow that caught her eye. Several visits to that shop all elicited the same response. There was begging, there were moments of disappointment at leaving without it. All of that was about to change.

Christmas Eve we have a tradition of opening one gift. My son’s gift that night was his new airplane. He opened it, and immediately began tearing open the box and in record time he had it assembled and was flying/driving it around the room. His grin was priceless. His joy was unashamed.

My daughter’s reaction was even better in some ways. When she opened the pillow there were two immediate responses. First, a squeal of glee that brought a smile to our faces. That was quickly followed by her taking off in a dead run, one of her totally out of control, on the verge of falling with every step, kind of runs, into her bedroom, squealing all the way. She was desperate to put that pillow on her bed where it belonged. She too, could not contain her joy.

I love moments like that, where you see someone whose dream has been fulfilled, whose wish has been granted. The kind of reaction that knows no shame, that has no filters on it. If only we adults could remember what that is like. To feel total joy at something as simple as a pillow or a plastic airplane.

Do you have any times when you felt that way? So happy you just wanted to scream. So full of joy you simply could not contain yourself. I’d love to hear about it.