So did you know that you can actually return Christmas presents? Let me set the stage. It's a couple of months before Christmas, 2020, and I really wanted to get my wife something good, something that I think that she has always wanted, a Mrs. Pac-Man game. Now, my wife Wendy is not a big gamer. We've been married 30 years. We did play some Mario games early in our marriage. And I remember coming home from

classes in college. We were newlyweds. This would have been in 1990 or 1991. And we were playing

one of the Mario games probably on the original Nintendo. I don't really remember the exact console.

She was working to put me through school. And sometimes we would have just a few minutes between

me getting home from school and her heading off to manage a women's clothing store in the mall.

So we'd check in, see how far one of us got on Mario, and pass along any tips or tricks that we thought the other might need to know that because we were starting to head our separate ways.

And I continued, as many males do, to really enjoy playing video games.

But as the consoles became more complex, the games more intense, Wendy didn't seem as excited

about gaming over the years and having a shared experience around a video game all but

disappeared. That is, except when we found ourselves maybe playing wee tennis later on in life

or even today, or Mario Kart. But that's not the point of the intro. When we're out and about, Wendy has been known to routinely defeat me on a game called Mrs. Pac-Man. Like to the point of frustration, I don't understand why I cannot beat her in this game, Mrs. Pac-Man. Regular Pac-Man, I've got a chance. And Mrs. Pac-Man, I don't know, she holds

some power over me. So when I started seeing the stand-up arcade games go on sale for just a fraction of what their coin-operated ancestors went for, I knew I had to buy her one. I knew that she wanted one. I assumed she wanted one. So I had chased a few down over the years, but I had never pulled the trigger. But this year, I started looking early. I made a purchase and the game

arrived. assumed she wanted one. So I had chased a few down over the years, but I had never pulled the trigger. But this year, I started looking early. I made a purchase and the game arrived a few weeks early, and I could not wait to unveil it on Christmas. I think I'd already told all my kids, probably clients, anybody that would listen, except for Wendy, that she was going to be thrilled with the Mrs. Pac-Man game at Christmas.

So fast forward to December 24th, our kids are older, so there wasn't really much to set up for the big day.

But the night before, sure enough, this was the case in so many houses across the world.

The kids could open one gift and surprise it was pajamas.

And they typically come with some sort of slipper, a house slipper. And I have some house shoes that I already like. So Wendy said that I didn't need to keep the ones that she bought. And I said, are you sure? That won't hurt your feelings? And she said no. And she set them aside. And we're all set to return them. No big deal. So as everybody got the PJs on, we took a family pitcher or two. And then she said, hey, so speaking of returns, I noticed the big box

out in the garage. No big deal. So as everybody got the PJs on, we took a family picture or two. And then she said,

hey, so speaking of returns, I noticed the big box out in the garage. I noticed it's a Mrs. Pac-Man

game. And that's so nice. But would you be offended if I wanted to return that? That one hurt.

That one stung a bit. Didn't she know that I've been trying to track this thing down for years?

I had spent probably hours trying to find a Mrs. Pac-Man game and finally finding one and pulling the trigger and it came.

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