Travis was told that he would wait until he was 10 to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. When we surprised him by giving him a fancy copy for Christmas a full three months early, he was pretty excited. He finished the entire trilogy in nine days. Yes, nine. Of course, he then looked forward to watching the movies, which we said would happen upon turning twelve. This time it was Jimmy that got antsy and announced that it would, instead, be included in his eleventh birthday celebration.

Yes, sometimes we actually do make our kids wait for things. And sometimes we don't. It's just one of the ways we keep them on their toes.