There’s one aspect of childhood that I didn’t like: We didn’t get to keep the birthday presents that people gave us. We’d unwrap all the gifts, note who gave us what, and stack them up in our closets. We could select two gifts to keep. The rest were for giving away, donations to children in need through San Antonio’s Elf Louise program. My parents probably thought it was a brilliant way to instill a spirit of generosity. To my ten-year-old self, it instilled resentment. I wanted four different Nerf guns, damn it!
