Evan just could not fall asleep. He tried reading a book. Tried watching a show on his iPad. Even counting sheep did not seem to work tonight. Uggh. He wanted to sleep so badly not because he was tired–he was anything but tired–but because the sooner he got to sleep the sooner the morning would come. The sooner the morning came, the sooner his birthday came. And with birthdays came presents. “Maybe I’m trying too hard,” he thought to himself. He gave up the fight and simply closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of the anticipation he felt inside.
He opened his eyes, expecting it to be only minutes after he’d closed them. But what he saw was light just peeking through the tiny cracks between his curtains and his window. With no hesitation he jumped out of bed and raced to pull back the curtains separating his room from the rest of the world. The brightness of the morning nearly blinded him, but it was here! It was his birthday! While he wanted to race into his mom’s room he thought better of it, not wanting to appear to eager.