There's nothing a tiger won't do for a tuna sandwich.

When I was a little girl, I fell in love with a boy and his best friend, a tiger. Every day they shared their adventures - pushing the family car into a ditch, throwing snowballs at the neighbor girl, torturing the babysitter or digging in the yard.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m talking about Calvin and Hobbes. Bill Watterson’s decision to retire the comic strip in 1995 broke my heart, but I can look back and remember Calvin, Hobbes, mom, dad, Susie, Miss Wormwood, Rosalyn and even Moe fondly. Not that our relationship ever really ended with more than a dozen books published through the years. (I have at least 10 of them.)

In The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, Watterson said he used Calvin “as an outlet for my immaturity, as a way to keep myself curious about the natural world, as a way to ridicule my own obsessions and as a way to comment on human nature.” I think many of us could relate and still do – that’s why the characters have remained so popular.

Why do I bring up the subject now? The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Hardcover is set for release Tuesday. Consider this a top priority on my Christmas list. The 1,440-page, three-volume box set includes every comic strip ever published over its 10-year run. And what would Calvin's dad tell his son if the boy complained about the 22.5-pound weight? Think of suffering as building character.