Why My Wife and Parents Win

Anyone who's known me for any reasonable length of time knows that I'm pretty apathetic towards my birthday. Don't get me wrong, it's not an age thing - in fact, I am pumped for my 30s and I think they are going to be awesome. Nor is it because my parents never made a big deal about my birthday - my birthday was the night where I got to choose the meal (whether cooked or out) and I always had great parties as a little kid. Here's where my problems lie:

1. My birthday is September 4th, and it's just a downright awful time of the year. Summer is over, and everyone is usually away or chock full of plans for Labor Day Weekend. Also, since I'm in public education (as is my wife and many of our friends) it is a crazy & stressful time as we're all scrambling around getting everything together for the start of the school year. To that end, I'm usually too stressed out to relax and enjoy my birthday with my friends. I used to get really upset by that, but these days I'm usually just worried about other things that I don't need a party/dinner out/get-together/whatever.

2. It's a double-whammy of not really wanting people to buy me gifts, and not really knowing what I'd want when people insist. My theory is this: if I really wanted something, I'd buy it. Simple. Unfortunately, this facet of my personality has driven my parents and Stephanie crazy over the years.

So, why do my Stephanie and my parents win? My mother had made a suggestion for a birthday gift, one that I had blown off due to lack of need and lack of storage space. She seemed surprised, seeing this item is something I've always wanted, and have resigned myself to the fact that I won't buy until we move into a bigger house. However, Steph won when she made a suggestion about clearing out some knick-knacks into storage and giving me room for said present. Needless to say, I'm actually getting excited about getting this present.

Here's the challenge: The only hints I'll give you are that it is something for the kitchen (shocking, right?) and I need a good amount of storage space for it. Can you guess what it is? Steph, Mom, Dad, Rory, Mike & Laurie are prohibited from answering ;)