The best birthday gift I've ever received is one I never wanted.
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The best birthday gift I've ever received is one I never wanted.
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The best birthday gift I've ever received is one I never wanted.
When I was five or six, I told my best friend I wanted a Nintendo game -- I don't remember which -- for my birthday. "No problem," he said. Then the day came, and as I ripped open his gift, I was excited to find -- a book.
I still remember the shock and disappointment. No child wants a book for their birthday. And as I glanced over at my former best friend, he looked down sheepishly. It wasn't his fault -- we didn't have any money. His parents decided another video game would damage our already rotting brains. The book was the medicine we needed.
It was a book of classic stories -- like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk -- with a different passage for each day of the year.
Mom was thrilled -- and suggested I read it. But I just tossed it aside in the pile of wrapping paper and went to play video games.
Then one evening, after I took a bath, brushed my teeth and lay awake in bed, Mom suggested Dad read from the book to get me to fall asleep. I didn't want to sleep yet, and I didn't want to hear some stupid book -- but I relented.
Dad started to read Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves -- and I sank into a deep slumber. I became Ali Baba. I said, "Open Sesame" and found myself in the Cave of Treasures. I fought off the bad guys.
That became our routine. Every night at bedtime, Dad opened the book to the day's date and read the passage. And I dreamed fantastic dreams. I was the hero of my story. Sometimes I used strength, but more often wit -- and I always won in the end.
Looking back, I didn't realize how much that book shaped my way of thinking. Even today, I don't see obstacles as failures, but temporary setbacks that I can overcome with some clever thinking. I'm still the hero of my story.
It's my birthday today. I don't look forward to it as much as I did back then. I think after 21, birthdays sort of lose their appeal. But I do reflect back. I've forgotten what gifts I received through the years -- everything sort of blurs together. But I remember that book -- and I remember Dad reading it to me.
It's the best gift I never wanted.
When I was five or six, I told my best friend I wanted a Nintendo game -- I don't remember which -- for my birthday. "No problem," he said. Then the day came, and as I ripped open his gift, I was excited to find -- a book.
I still remember the shock and disappointment. No child wants a book for their birthday. And as I glanced over at my former best friend, he looked down sheepishly. It wasn't his fault -- we didn't have any money. His parents decided another video game would damage our already rotting brains. The book was the medicine we needed.
It was a book of classic stories -- like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk -- with a different passage for each day of the year.
Mom was thrilled -- and suggested I read it. But I just tossed it aside in the pile of wrapping paper and went to play video games.
Then one evening, after I took a bath, brushed my teeth and lay awake in bed, Mom suggested Dad read from the book to get me to fall asleep. I didn't want to sleep yet, and I didn't want to hear some stupid book -- but I relented.
Dad started to read Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves -- and I sank into a deep slumber. I became Ali Baba. I said, "Open Sesame" and found myself in the Cave of Treasures. I fought off the bad guys.
That became our routine. Every night at bedtime, Dad opened the book to the day's date and read the passage. And I dreamed fantastic dreams. I was the hero of my story. Sometimes I used strength, but more often wit -- and I always won in the end.
Looking back, I didn't realize how much that book shaped my way of thinking. Even today, I don't see obstacles as failures, but temporary setbacks that I can overcome with some clever thinking. I'm still the hero of my story.
It's my birthday today. I don't look forward to it as much as I did back then. I think after 21, birthdays sort of lose their appeal. But I do reflect back. I've forgotten what gifts I received through the years -- everything sort of blurs together. But I remember that book -- and I remember Dad reading it to me.
It's the best gift I never wanted.
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