Multiplying delight

What’s better than getting birtday gifts on your birthday? Getting birthday gifts after your birthday!

Last week, when I turned 42, my girlfriend gave me the Lego Batman Tumbler. Or to be more specific: she gave me a card telling me I would get the Lego Batman Tumbler, because the package hadn’t arrived in time.

When I was a kid, I might have been bummed that I couldn’t start playing with my Lego set right away, but at 42, I’m not in a hurry anymore. In fact, receiving my gift this way was a double delight.

First, I had the surprise of opening the card and seeing a picture of the Lego set I forgot I desperately wanted. That was already awesome. And then two days later, when the package arrived, it was again a delightful moment — the box was so much bigger than expected, and opening it put another big smile on my face.

But my birthday still wasn’t over. Because today another package arrived. Again, something I didn’t expect. This time, my friends sent me a gift. Another Lego set! Again, it was a delightful surprise.

And still, the fun isn’t over. In fact, the real fun hasn’t even started yet. Because there will come a moment when we get to build all these Lego sets. Until we do, I get to look at the Lego boxes, anticipating the joy of building.

It turns out that, when given the right way, gifts are delights that can be multiplied.