Peeking at Christmas Gifts

No, not me, but my brother did. Well, maybe I did once.

My mother was a very uber organized woman. She would buy a Christmas gift, wrap it and then hide it in the basement on a card table covered with a cloth. Of course, this was never in the basement except in the weeks preceeding Christmas so it was hard to ignore. Not that I spent much time in the basement - it scared me and I was afraid of mice that would nibble at the wax on the jelly jars.

My brother was not afraid of mice and could NOT wait for Christmas morning to see what was in the wrapped gifts. He would go down there when our mother was busy teaching other kids to play the piano. He carefully took off the cloth and found gifts that had his name on them. He was extremely careful about lifting the tape and peering under the gift wrap to try to see what was under it. By Christmas he knew what every package held. One year he talked me into joining him in his clandestine activity. I was so disappointed to lose the surprise of opening gifts on Christmas morning. I never did that again. Plus, I was riddled with guilt for doing something that I knew was wrong. Not one of my finer moments.