by Doyle Delap

Created on: August 21, 2008

The Dreaded Raisin Cookie Let-Down Syndrome

Remember when you were a kid on Christmas morning? You could hardly get to sleep that night, and then woke up extra early to rush to the Christmas tree to see what gifts were there. I think most of us can remember the excitement and anticipationas well as the impatience waiting for mom and dad to wake up and give the OK to begin tearing into the colorful wrapping paper.

Often, particularly when I was a younger boy, some of the presents I received were not exactly what I had in my mind as I had difficulty getting to sleep on Christmas Eve. Perhaps you have had a similar experience. Do you remember a time when you grabbed a beautifully-wrapped gift and tore into it only to realize that you had just un-wrapped a package of Sunday socks? How about underwear or a turtle-neck sweater? Some of you teen girls or others who are really into clothing may not know what I am talking about, but to a 10-year-old boy, the disappointment is such that you would almost prefer not to have received the gift at all.
When I would receive such a gift, for some reason it would always be from my mother. And with the decorum that young boys are known for I would turn to mom and politely inquire as to why this particular presentnoting that underwear was not on my Christmas wish list. To which mom usually pointed out that it was something that I needed and by wrapping it up as a present, it gave me more gifts to open.

Well, the minor irritation at this did not last, because, after all, there were some worthwhile presents in the mix and I was anxious go get started playing with them. It wasn't until years later that I had an epiphany and put some words to that particular feeling of disappointment experienced while holding Sunday socks in one hand and torn gift-wrap in the other. Raisin cookies.

As a teen, I was at a church gathering and naturally gravitated toward the refreshments table. I found a large delicious-looking chocolate chip cookie and bit right into it. But suddenly realized that it was oatmeal raisin. Now, I have nothing against oatmeal raisin cookies. In fact, I actually like them quite a bit. As a matter of fact, I like having decent underwear too. But honestly, if you are expecting chocolate chips, the raisins are a bit of a let-down. That night, I realized that the particular sort of disappointment one experiences with a cookie mix-up is exactly the same feeling young boys get upon opening certain Christmas gifts.

From then on, I

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