Expectations

All right. I'm just going to come right out and say this:

I hate surprises.

There. Does that make me a not-fun person? Probably. But I can't help it. I hate it when someone says, "I've got a surprise for you!" and then you have to wait until whenever to find out what it is. I am always disappointed. If you just tell me out-right what you've got, the odds are really good that I'm going to be totally excited about whatever you've bought/done/planned. But when you leave me not knowing, I always end up disappointed.

Sorry I'm so lame. I really can't help it.

It's something I never gave a whole lot of thought to until last night when Craig and I were discussing-- of all things-- Kendra's new toy horse. Its tail has been shedding hair all over the place and I was telling Craig that I really needed to vacuum up those creepy long black hairs.

"Or," Craig suggested, "You could buy a curry comb!"

"Great idea." I said.

Craig, though, was surprised that I even knew what a curry comb was. He took horseback riding lessons as a kid, so he thought he'd have the edge on me since I didn't.

"No," I explained, "like most little girls, I went through a stage in my life where every Christmas I secretly hoped for a pony. But it never happened."

It was Craig, insightful guy that he is, who took this to the next step.

"Is that why you hate surprises? Because every time someone says they have a surprise for you, you're secretly hoping that they're going to give you a horse?"


Yup. He nailed it. I couldn't even admit to him at the time (but I'm admitting it now) that later, after I'd gotten over my love of horses, my infatuation with whales began (and never really ended) and my expectations rose even higher. That's when I began hoping for a pet killer whale. How could any surprise ever hope to live up to such expectations?

Craig assured me that he would never ever surprise me with a horse, so I could give up on that notion.

But I'm not giving up on the killer whale.


Some day. It's gonna happen!