Wii Love

I am one lucky woman. I married a man who doesn't really like to play video games. So, imagine my surprise when he started begging about this time last year for a Nintendo Wii for Christmas. I laughed off his request. We needed a video game system like we needed holes in both of our heads. With a baby on the way, we had a million more important things on which to spend our money. While I delighted in picking out strollers, car seats, itty bitty clothes and a crib bumper, Jim, being the sport he is, let me have a field day. But every once in awhile, he'd tell me about a friend who had a Wii or how he'd seen one somewhere. After perusing Pottery Barn Kids for baby bedding one day out at the mall, we even stopped into a video game store so that he could play the demo. I could see in his eyes that he really wanted this thing. As most women do when their husband asks for a video game system, I rolled my eyes and groaned.

Months passed, our baby was born and Jim's birthday rolled around. The thing was that his birthday fell 11 days after Claire's birth, so tracking down the notoriously undersupplied Wii was not in the cards. Plus, I knew having the Wii and a new baby could prove disastrous for a new dad. So, for his 30th birthday, I bought Jim two new pairs of khakis and two new shirts. Man, I suck. Adulthood came crashing down on his shoulders thanks to Brooks Brothers and a really poorly timed "responsible" gift from me. As October approached and I emerged from my baby haze, I began to realize that I wanted to get Jim and awesome present. I thought for days about what I could get him to show him how much I adore him, and then it hit me. He needed a Wii.

So, I suppose he didn't need it, but he wanted it so bad. He got so excited when we'd talk about it, and I saw no other choice. Every store in America is sold out of these bad boys, so I resorted to my trusty Craig's List and found a brand new system for a very small mark-up. I contacted the seller, withdrew some cash and we had a deal. I sent my brother-in-law to pick the Wii up. There was no way in hell I was going with my baby to meet some gaming freak downtown to pick this thing up. So, I gave my brother-in-law the cash, he picked it up and he dropped it off at our house in the POURING rain. I suspect that he wanted the Wii as badly as Jim did. I swore that I would hold off on giving Jim the Wii until Christmas, but something told me that I needed to give it to him now. He was working particularly late, and it'd been a crappy week. Also, he is the world's most proficient snooper, and I fold pretty easily when questioned about gifts that are supposed to be surprised. So, I took a picture of Claire sitting on top of the Wii and e-mailed it to Jim at work. I sat back and waited no longer than 30 seconds for my phone to ring. I picked it up to my husband shrieking in excitement.

We went out of town separately that weekend, so he didn't have time to set it up. He got back home before I did, so he called me as soon as he got it set up. It lived up to all of his expectations. As soon as I got home, we engaged in a few bouts of tennis, bowling, boxing and golf. Jim was right -- the Wii is awesome. The graphics are sharp, the music resists being grating and you even get to create your own Mii -- your own little animated self. What's more awesome about it is that I got a rare glimpse at my husband having uninteruppted, unstressful and unplanned fun. Jim hasn't had anything that's truly his in a long time. When we got married, it was all about me -- the dress, the flowers, the hair, etc. When I was pregnant, it was all about me and our little growing baby. When we finally had Claire, it was all about her. The Wii was something he'd really wanted, and he finally got it...and what do you think he did?

He shared it with me.