"I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...."

When I was a boy, I LOVED to get new toys. Be they GI Joe, Transformers, a new plastic gun, whatever. I loved them all, and getting them was one of the greatest feelings ever. The only thing I liked more than getting a new toy, was showing my friends my new toy.

I never did it to say "Ha ha I got this and you didn't!" It was more that I was excited to get something and I wanted my friends to share in my excitement and to be excited both for, and with me. Fortunately, or unfortunately this feeling never really goes away.

This explains to me why men still like toys. At least this explains why I still like to get toys. For instance I got a new watch Tuesday (I ordered it); I got it because my current one is eroding and (while I am no engineer) I believe that's bad. So the watch came and I love it, I need to take it and get it adjusted to fit better, but it's great.

I also had to go shopping yesterday for some new stuff. While I am still excited about the new things, there's no reason to show others because while they are new (out of the box), they are really more of a replacement. What did I get? Let me share some of my excitement and tell you.

I first had to get a new bedframe. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, heard a creak, then noticed I was sitting considerably lower than I was mere moments before. If ever a sign appeared that I am too fat, there it is. While I am certainly happy with the new frame (not the price, mind) I can't really show it to people ("Yes it's new, so get on your hands and knees, and have a look! I'll hold the flashlight").

I also bought a memory foam mattress from Costco. My dad generously gave Jaci and I one many months ago and it's GREAT! Very comfortable, my back pain lessened considerably. I highly recommend them. Now I know what you're thinking, if my dad gave me one, why did I buy a new one? Did I get a new and bigger bed? No. Am I putting it on the spare bed? No.

So why spend the money? I'll tell you: t h e d o g. That's right, Jaci's dog ate my mattress. This is not the first time, it's actually the third. The first time I just flipped it over, annoyed, but no big deal. The second time I was able to maneuver it so the dents were on Jaci's side of the bed (it IS her dog after all), but the third time the hole was big enough for a Chewie sized head. It must be replaced. Off to Costco we went.

We are hoping to use the good parts of the chewed up one for pillows of some sort because it is very comfortable. So I unwrapped it and dutifully spread it out on the bed to expand while I am at work but while I am still excited about my new toy, I can't really get others involved. There are several reasons. One is that it's a replacement, two is that it is only a mattress, and three involves how the conversation looks ("come to my bedroom and see my new mattress"). Yeah. Right.

So after all of that I am excited to go home and sleep on my new mattress, even though it will feel similar to the old one. At the end of the day however, I'm still excited.

I have a new toy!