It’s so nice to know I’ve “still got it” even though I never actually knew I’d had it in the first place, but daughter #1 disclosed last night that, as a child, she always thought that I was great at picking just the right Christmas presents for her. She even loved the things she didn’t know she wanted but did love them as soon as she got them. Lest my head swell two sizes larger like the Grinch’s heart did, I reminded her that Daughter #2 might have an entirely different view, because in her eyes nothing was ever quite as desirable as whatever her sister got. That’s probably called “second child syndrome.”

This conversation came about because Hubby and I decided to make gift buying easier this year by purchasing one gift per family–for the family–rather than run from store to store, trying to figure out several gifts that would add up to a really great Christmas memory in years to come. We decided to try and find and buy two Wii sets.

On our November visit to Las Vegas, we happened across a store with Wii sets in stock and a fairly short line, so we bought them. The hardest part was keeping our mouth shut when the subject of gifts came up because we wanted it to be a total surprise for everybody. So as people around us seemed to be going crazy Christmas shopping, we sat contentedly at home not saying a word, our Christmas purchases hidden in the library closet.

Daughter #2 and her S-O in New York were stunned when they opened theirs up a couple of days before Christmas, since they were both traveling over the holiday. Apparently they were stunned because they never expected something like a Wii from two normally practical minded parents. They can hardly wait until they both get back home to try theirs out.

Daughter #1 had actually talked to a neighbor a couple of days ago about getting one–maybe next year–she hoped. She and S-I-L tried their’s out in the afternoon. They Wii-ed so long this afternoon, that dinner was an hour and a half late. It appears, therefore, that we got it right again.

After we all stuffed ourselves with a delicious dinner and cleaned up, and two exhausted kids were herded off to an early bedtime, Hubby and I were invited to see if we enjoyed Wii-ing as much as they had.

Hubby is actually quite good at sports, especially cricket and tennis, and, while I’m not particularly good at any sport, I did plausibly well in softball and tennis. It didn’t take long to remember how much I used to love playing sports though. For a 65-year-old with both Rheumatoid and Osteo-arthritis, I found a few of the old good moves, and was having so much fun Wii-ing that I didn’t want to stop. Plus it was hard to be good kids and wait ’til our turns to Wii again, as daughter and S-I-L insisted on having a turn too.

All I can say is, it was great fun. I can see why everyone is going crazy for it. If you get  a chance to Wii in the future, or if you got one too, let me tell about this “cow race” you’ve got to try. In it, your character, called a Mii (which you custom design before Wii-ing begins),  and your opponent each ride a cow down a lane with some kind of obstacles coming at you that you need to hit out of the way. Now I can’t tell you what those things were because, before I knew what was happening, my cow was off the road, running so hard and fast across the grass that I ran almost smack dab into the fence before I finally straightened him up to try and get back to the racetrack.

Be forewarned. Before you embark in this “cow race,” it would be a good idea to take a bathroom break. Seeing that fence looming beside me and trying so desperately to get back to the track was just too funny. I was laughing so hard that I . . I . . well . . . I really did ‘wee’ a little in my pants while I was Wii-ing! I imagine for my birthday somebody will certainly rub it in by getting me a box of Depends.