Yes, it’s true, I am a reformed peeker. Before you let your imagination run wild, let me explain. Once I was old enough to realize that Santa wasn’t necessarily the one that left presents under the tree on Christmas Eve, I also realized that that meant the presents were somewhere IN the house BEFORE Christmas Eve. So, yes, I snooped … and yes, I peeked. Several years of snooping and peeking, actually. It was fun, like a treasure hunt. Then there was the excitement of discovering all the gifts (plus wondering which were mine because I had two brothers … it was usually easy to figure out). But then, once the snooping and peeking were over, the guilt set in. The first couple times, the guilt wasn’t strong enough to outweigh the thrill of finding the presents. But then, one year I remember telling my mom that I had snooped and found them, and the look on her face made me so sad … that was the last time I snooped. In fact, for years afterwards, she would let me wrap all the presents, trusting me to not open mine even though they were only secured with a couple pieces of Scotch tape. I never did peek. I realized that not only was it more fun to wait until Christmas morning, but I had also come to understand that this was something my mother looked forward to as well, seeing our faces light up. Now that I’m a mother, I completely understand. I’m sure you have had to wait for something you wanted to happen, even if you didn’t know how it would turn out. I didn’t know if I’d like my gifts (and some I honestly did not from time to time), but the anticipation was fun just the same. Sometimes, the gift IS the anticipation. When you’re excited about something, relish in the feeling. Whether it’s looking forward to the weekend, to a day off, to the company holiday party, even your next paycheck — enjoy the journey. It doesn’t take much these days to snuff out that part, we are all so busy. Maybe you’re thinking, why should I look forward to my day off, I have all kinds of chores to do. Or, my paycheck is already spent, what is there to be excited about? Well, then you have some more work to do. You need to work in something special for yourself, just you, so you CAN look forward to it. Plan to go to the movies … even by yourself! Or put aside a little money from that paycheck and have fun spending it on something for YOU, just a little something. Plan to spend a little cash on coffee with a good friend, so you can do both at once! Be sure to schedule that coffee talk ahead of time so you can, of course, anticipate the event! Put a little anticipation in your life … don’t wait! You could be enjoying the ride right now!
