It was mid-December, and I was recovering from brain surgery, not feeling the joy of the season at all. In fact, I was pretty bummed-out.
Out of nowhere one morning, a poinsettia appeared on my front porch. Attached to the beautiful plant was a little note. “On the first day of Christmas my good friends sent to me…a pretty poinsettia!”
I laughed out loud.
The next day the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, there was another note and another surprise—two fuzzy dice. And so it went for the next ten days.
Three bags of popcorn, four lovely candles, five crafty decorations. Each item lifted my spirits a little more. Six tasty tamales, seven balls of chocolate, eight jars of jelly. Sometimes the gifts would appear in the morning; other times the afternoon or evening. Nine Christmas carols, ten little reindeer, eleven random trinkets.
I couldn’t imagine who had organized it all.
When I returned to work in January, a coworker let it slip. “We knew you would get a kick out of it!” she said.
I thanked my friends profusely. By that time I was thoroughly enjoying my twelfth and final gift—a year’s subscription to Guideposts!
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