There are too many secrets in this house.

Like the gifts I'm hiding for Adam, in the closet, in my vacant shoes and underneath the sink.

The Christmas of 1995 when I was 11 and my brother Ryan was 9 we went on a treasure hunt. These hunts were almost better than the holiday itself, there was risk involved and there was a lot to lose. We had to be quiet, sneaky and meet at the bottom of the stairs at late hours with our flashlights. This was the year we found the temple of doom. In a few short days Ryan would be receiving an X Box 360 (new to the world of 1995) and I was to receive a karaoke stereo with a TV inside it!

We were caught. All the gifts went back to the store. My parents and Santa treated us to a few things, but they weren't the ones we had been salivating over all year.

Lesson learned: God damn it Adam, don't tell me my gifts are too big to wrap. Your almost ASKING for it.

(I promise I won't look. I promise I won't look. I promise I won't look...)