Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for August 16, 2024

Oh.

Busted!!!

My wife used to do that, so I specialized in presents that were impossible to open, hidden inside other presents, or confusingly wrapped. What broke her of it was the “big box that must be kept in the fridge for the two weeks before Xmas” incident. This took up about half the freezer and when finally opened was one of those “singing lobsters”. Her real present was in my pocket the whole time …(She gave it to a friend / neighbour who hid it in his brothers freezer and nearly scared him to death when it started singing at him.)

He could always put the surprise back into Christmas mornings, by removing a few presents, and wrapping similar sized presents the night before. She could experience surprise when opening a gift wrapped box of …crackers? Or a poster of… Red Green?

My sister had a friend in 8th grade who was able to tell her what was in every single one of her presents without unwrapping anything. Sis thought that would be fun, but sure enough, on Christmas morning it was unfun to the max.

Dads and daughters have a complicated relationship. I love my girl.

Caught out ! Daddy knows …

I never peeked. I’m addition, my mother asked if I wanted to open one the day before. I never did. Told her I can wait.

Yes, I know that’s not really normal. “I am not normal. Normal is boring” -motto #2 of three.

I would find Mom’s master list. All the gifts, how much they cost…

Not at our house. No early opening, no shaking or tilting. Six kids, so everything stayed where dad put them until we got back from church.

When she’s caught, she cops out.

Danae, you little rascal.

I’m guessing Danae is one of those people who reads the last page of a book and then goes back to finishing the book.

We were spoiled and got tons of presents. My dad would film us opening them with his Kodak 8mm camera

In the future you will have opportunity for success and happiness, and your right to choose if the Democrats win the election. And more of your rights lost, back to being a 2nd class person much like property as your great-great-great grandmother was if tRump and Project 2025 wins.

and if it’s not to your liking, then what?

I was not a peeker, but my sister was. Our parents had a great hiding place. We had a camper, and they would put the presents inside with the curtains drawn and the door locked.

For a couple of days, I hid my daughter’s rocking horse at my office at work. My clients were a little surprised by my office “seating”.

Plan, strategize, control is an illusion. Get used to it. ….. ;-)

The only reason to know the future would be to prepare for it. However, if you could do that, it would be a different future. All you can do with the future is live it.

I used to like surprises.The older I get, the more likely it will be an unpleasant surprise.

You shake tehe Christmas present to find out what it is—-and it’s a fragile object that breaks into 100 pieces

To me it seems this topic has re-run its course more often than it should have. I don’t complain – not every single strip can be brilliant – but I am waiting patiently for a new arc.

When I got my first bike one Christmas, I heard dad putting it together. I also got a new vocabulary that Christmas. :-P

Busted!!

My sister was a master at unwrapping and rewrapping her gifts without it being obvious she did it. That’s when I started wrapping her gifts up in plastic grocery bags, full layers of packaging tape, and multiple layers of gift wrap. I’d present her with the gift, a pair of scissors, and a trash bag. She eventually stopped trying to peek altogether.

Dad don’t bother wrapping her presents from now on…