My mother would give my brothers and me a pile of catalogues and let us pick what we wanted for Christmas.

The remark evokes a mid‑century American, mail‑order Christmas in which children’s desires are mediated through consumer catalogues rather than store visits. Mullis frames his childhood as one of choice and imaginative projection: paging through catalogues turns wanting into a concrete, list-making activity, and it also suggests a household that encouraged curiosity and personal preference. In a broader sense, the quote hints at how early experiences of selecting, comparing, and envisioning possibilities can shape a mindset comfortable with options and experimentation—traits often associated with inventive, problem-solving personalities.