Christmas was just days away, and the charming ceramic Christmas tree nightlight I had ordered for Maya, our six-year-old granddaughter, still hadn’t arrived in the mail. “I ordered it on December sixth,” I grumbled to my husband, Neil. “What could be the holdup?”
The news was full of stories about empty store shelves and supply-chain delays, but the nightlight was made in Vermont and we live right across the state line in northern New York. I doubted the world was experiencing a run on nightlights. The package had to be lost in the mail.
I counted on Christmas to be a haven of peace and good cheer for our extended family. We’d come through the pandemic intact, but like everyone else, we were stressed and stretched thin. The children felt it too, and the little ceramic Christmas tree would have lit Maya’s room in a reassuring glow. I called the company.
“I’m sorry,” the customer service representative said when I gave her my order number. “There’s something odd here, and we’ll have to investigate. You’ll get a call back within 24 hours.” Like that would ever happen.
Yet, the next day, my phone rang. “For some reason,” said the service rep, “your package sat in a Pennsylvania post office for several days. After that, we can’t track it, so I’m marking it lost. We’ll overnight a new one.”
Not even Santa could have offered better customer service. As promised, the nightlight arrived, and it was just as adorable as I’d hoped. Maya would love it.
The next day, I was talking on the phone with her nine-year-old brother, Chase. “What are you hoping to get for Christmas?” I asked. He rattled off several toys. “And a new nightlight. I love nightlights.”
How could I not have known that? Now it was too late to order another one. I couldn’t even dash out to the store because I was at high risk for Covid. I hung up with Chase, imagining his disappointment when he saw his sister’s gift.
The doorbell rang, and Neil came back inside with a package in his hand. “Did you order something I don’t know about?” I shook my head and opened it. The lost nightlight!
I called the company and explained why I should be charged twice. “Consider the extra nightlight our gift to you and your family,” the rep said. “And have a very merry Christmas!”
I knew that a lost nightlight was the least of God’s concerns during a tough holiday season. Yet, the Giver of all good gifts had made sure a pair of mail-order ceramic trees would cast a reassuring glow over our Christmas. A light for all the nights and days to come.
