Fun fact: that's why I didnt't like receiving presents as a child. The social interaction of thanking someone for a present made me so uneasy, I would rather not get one at all.
My parents generally bought me presents that I liked, but my extended family generally did not. I was also the youngest member of my extended family until I was in my twenties. Not kidding. My clan doesn't pop out a lot of kids.
My grandmother always counted on me to gush over presents in an excited tizzy. My birthday was close to Christmas. My grandmother gave me permission to open my birthday presents on Christmas, so she could see my reaction, but I usually declined, so I wouldn't have to fake a positive reaction. Also, I liked having a big pile of presents on my birthday.
The first Christmas where I opened my presents like an adult (I used my finger to unhook the tape and slid the box out of the paper rather than ripping the paper in a frenzy) made my grandmother a little sad. She started buying me fewer presents which I was okay with.
My grandmother had no brothers, no sons, and her father died when she was young. She never understood boys or men, so she didn't buy very appealing presents for boys or men. My aunt who had a son five years older than me normally bought me great presents because she knew what her son liked and figured I would like them too. I especially liked the bean bag chair she bought for my teenaged version of a man cave. I didn't dislike thanking
her for presents.
That's a big tangent for a post about dogs and cats. I have one aunt who always bought me lousy parents and I disliked as an adult, but she did do one very nice thing for me. Her dog had puppies, and I got one at age seven.
I do not have a digital picture of my childhood dog, but this picture is pretty close to my dog as a puppy. He was a basset hound but he had a beagle-ish face.
Also: did I mention how weird it is to get presents for the pure feat of staying alive another year? I mean: my parents probably deserved those presents a lot more than I did!
The birthday presents dry up at adulthood. Children shouldn't question it.
What did Jim Gaffagan say. Every time I see a new born baby I think "I hope you like cake."
I always make sure to commemorate surviving another year with cake, usually ice cream cake.
