Ruined Surprise

Have you ever purposefully ruined a surprise? 

When I was young, I was a huge fan of He-Man: Masters of the Universe. One spring, I knew I would be given a gift, so I let my parents know that the one thing I really wanted was a He-Man bird called Screech, which had flapping wings and looked terrific. My parents were a little skeptical and told me that if I made this decision, there would be no surprise because I would know exactly what I was getting, but I was firm. They bought it, and that was my ‘surprise.’

There was a little part of me that was disappointed that I missed out on the surprise, but it was not as big as the part of me that was excited to have this phenomenal character to go with my other He-Man toys. Life is full of trade-offs, and this was a trade-off that I was willing to live with. 

I don’t often ruin a surprise, but I did this time. This is a story that has shaped me. What are the stories that have shaped you?