And how! Yesterday while we are on the phone, suddenly she says “Ow! Hey! It’s stuck! Ow! I hurt my hand trying to pull it off!”

“What’s stuck? What’s wrong?”

“The chain! The chain from your present! I was playing with it, and somehow it got around my right wrist, and now the lock’s closed and it’s stuck!”

(This is technically known as the “Doctor, I don’t know how that got in there, I was holding it in my hand and then I slipped in the shower and fell on it” explanation.)

Of course I’m laughing so hard my teeth hurt. Also, I’m thinking fast. “Do you remember the combination?”

“No!” (This turns out, sadly, not to be true.)

I quickly tell her a combination. One digit removed from the actual. Visions of saying “Oh, gosh, you must have reset the combination while you were playing, now you’ll have to try all ten thousand with your left hand while I tease encourage you” begin to dance in my head. I envision hours of high quality family fun.

Alas, she was not listening to my misinformation.

“Oh, there it is! I got it off. Gosh, I was getting worried there for a minute. Good thing I remembered the… HEY! You gave me the wrong combination!!!”

God, that was fun.

But the real fun of the day was her confirming her tickets. January 10. Best Christmas present ever. Cannot wait.