This is why you should always wave at the garbage man.

Yep, that’s a toy garbage bin, bestowed by Santa masquerading as our yard waste collector. We go out to wave at him every week, and actually followed his truck for a while on one of our walks. He always waves back, and a couple times has activated the arm to amuse Benji, even when we have no bin.

Today when we stepped outside to wave, he stopped the truck, got out, and gave Benji his very own bin, complete with spinning wheels. We shared our cookies and lavished him with many thanks as we waved bye-bye.

It was the highlight of my week so far, being so completely surprising and perfect. A small box with wheels and a lid: what could be better? “Thrilled” begins to express it, but doesn’t really cover everything. What a wonderful surprise.

Oh, and here’s a self-portrait Benji accidentally took. I put the phone on front camera and aimed; he tapped the screen.