Amazon Kindness

Here’s the thing; I believe that people really WANT to be kind.

I think it is an inherent thing, maybe baked into our DNA.

We want to be kind.  But sometimes, we don’t know how.  We don’t see the opportunities.  We feel there is nothing WE can do.  We are too busy, too tired, too overworked, too OVERWHELMED with life to seek out ways to be kind.

But when presented with opportunity, many, many people jump at the chance to be kind. And that fact warms my heart and keeps my work as a Kindness Activist going.

Case in point: over the last 18 or so months I have been working on the skill of delegating.  This is a tough one for me.  I have always unconsciously been of the “the only way to do it right is to do it myself” mentality, but I’ve been working to unravel that thread in my head.  One way I have done that is by outright asking for volunteers. 

That is hard to do…  It is admitting you need help.  Admitting that you CAN’T do it all yourself.

But in the ASKING, you are also OFFERING.  You are offering an opportunity for others to be kind!  And that might be just what they are looking for!!!

This week I asked for help laminating a big pile of signs (signs that I had previously asked for help making and a lovely neighbor took on the task!).  A volunteer popped up right away for laminating – she came and picked up the signs and returned them perfect and lovely - all laminated - the very next day!  I also asked for help breaking down a big donation of rice into smaller sealed packets for the pantry.  Several people volunteered for that task and a mom and her son came over and did it. 

See, people want to be kind.  Kindness can be a gift of support, of help, of time.  I am going to keep trying to improve my skill of offering those opportunities to be kind to the world.

I was fortunate to witness a great act of kindness today!!  You may have seen me mention the Amazon man who bid in the online Kindness Auction.  If you haven’t heard of him, here is the story in a nutshell (then the act of kindness after I catch everyone up on who he is!):

We are hosting a huge community-wide yard sale October 14 and 15.  It is a fundraiser for Kindness Activist, an organization whose mission is simple – SPREAD KINDNESS.  Many, many people in the community donate items to be sold at the fundraiser and shoppers pay what they wish, with the understanding that all money raised will be used for kind acts.

The yard sale was supposed to be in September but got postponed due to rain.  That postponement means another month of our porch being full of boxes and donations.  Another month of having to put ropes up in front of the porch to “subtly” tell passersby that even though it may look like our porch is a yard sale, it is not open yet.

We get a lot of Amazon deliveries because kind people all over the country order from our Amazon wish list and send items to fill the Little Free Pantry outside our home.  So, it is not unusual for Amazon delivery drivers to be on our porch. 

But recently an unlikely interaction with an “Amazon man” happened.  The doorbell rang and my partner David answered.  An Amazon man was standing on the porch and had peered through the front door and spied a Messe Football/Soccer jersey hanging in our dining room.

“I want to buy that!” he told David.  David explained to him the sale was not on yet, and that the jersey in question was not for sale, but it was up for auction in an online auction.  He told him how it all worked and the man gave David his phone number so that we could send him the auction link.

We texted back and forth with him a couple of times, but he never bid.  I thought maybe he lost interest, but then he called us.  He needed help figuring out the system of the auction, so we walked him through it. 

As he was registering, he told us that he had played soccer his whole life and Messi is his favorite player.  He really “needed” that jersey!  He was so excited at the possibility of getting it!

When he finally got into the auction he placed his bid - $14.  Then he quickly placed a second bid - $15.  “You just outbid yourself!” I explained, laughing.  “I know!  But I WANT THAT JERSEY!  I am going to put $20!!” he exclaimed as he upped his bid again.

“Ohhh, there are MORE THINGS in the auction!!” he said.  He started to scroll as we talked and expressed interest in some jewelry.  “I am from Ethiopia, and I am going home soon to get married.  This jewelry would be very nice for my fiancé!”.

We enjoyed chatting with him a bit, then wished him a good night.  The concept of an auction seemed new to him, so David reminded him to keep an eye out for messages to see if he got outbid and needed to bid again (though secretly David told me he was going to keep bidding for the Amazon man if someone outbid him, because we were squarely in the TEAM AMAZON MAN corner by that point!).

The auction ended – Amazon man was the winner of the jersey.  We were really psyched for him.  When we woke up the next morning we found a text that had popped in at 1:48 am.  It was from him and simply read, “Halleluiah”. 

Now, here comes the first act of kindness in this story (well, really it’s the second, because the jersey itself was donated by a kind person!).  Anyway, another bidder, a friend, had seen my mention of the Amazon man in a post.  She contacted me and said, “If it was the Amazon driver who won the jersey for $20, I would like to pay for it”.

Isn’t that so sweet and KIND???

We didn’t tell the Amazon man that someone was treating him until he showed up this morning to pick up his jersey.  I brought it out to him, and he had the biggest smile!  “It is REAL!  It is FIFA!” he exclaimed.  I showed him that it was brand new, and he held it up proudly.  As David snapped this photo of him, the driver of a passing car honked and said, “Hey, I want one, too!” and we all laughed.

Then I told him the news that someone else had already paid for him.  He was stunned!  I explained that the auction was raising money to be used to spread kindness, and someone had given him an act of kindness by covering his cost.  He couldn’t believe it and was so thankful.

We talked a bit.  He showed us photos of his beautiful fiancé, who he will bring to America from Ethiopia this November. 

And before he left to start work for the day, he said, “May I still donate the $20??”.  I told him he did not need to, that his purchase was paid for already.  But he wanted to.  He wanted to help spread kindness, too!

So, this sweet man, this man who works very hard for a living driving and hauling heavy boxes, this man who is probably saving money to pay for his fiancé’s airline ticket and wedding expenses, reached into his pocket and donated $20.

And if that isn’t kind, I don’t know what is.

The Santa Project 2022 Summary!

I suppose the most logical way to write a summary of the 2022 Santa Project would be to do it NUMERICALLY.  You know, how many kids wrote letters to Santa, how much Kindness Activist money was used to buy the gifts, etc….

But the thing is, not much is LOGICAL about the Santa Project…

I guess the most simple way to give a summary would be to show a couple of the letters kids wrote to Santa and how Santa replied. 

But then, nothing about the Santa Project is SIMPLE either…

But the 2022 event finally wrapped up yesterday, January 22, 2023, so it is time to tackle the summary, however I figure out how to do it.  I want to share the results with you, I owe you a summary, so here goes!!

Deep breath.

Some letters to Santa come complete with portraits of the big man!

Whew – the Santa Project was exhausting!!!  I took some time off before it to spend visiting my family in Omaha, and as soon as the plane landed back in Arlington I hit the ground running.  The letter writing station opened on November 30^th and stayed up until around December 15^th.  During that time, over 200 people wrote letters to Santa – 212 people to be exact.  Compare that to year one (2020) when 111 people wrote.  Or to 2021 when 142 people wrote.  The project is growing!!

And those 212 people were not the only ones to receive gifts and letters from the big man at the North Pole.  Some special gifts were also given this year to folks in difficult situations that did not write, but Santa treated them anyway (17 people).  More about that in a bit.

During the Santa Project, our home (which we lovingly call the Big Yellow House) is over-run by it.  People stop by the station at all hours of the day and night and mail their letters in the special mailbox that goes straight to the North Pole.  Amazon boxes arrive in droves – there were so many deliveries this year that our porch was constantly covered in a sea of brown boxes and white padded envelopes.  Volunteers (called “elves” of course!) pop in and out everyday to wrap gift after gift after gift.  And I sit at my laptop and compose letter after letter after “will I ever finish???” letter from Santa to respond to the excited writers.  Each letter is unique – no copy and paste here.  Santa answers their questions.  Commends them on their drawing and writing.  Asks them questions.  Tells them funny stories.  And even gives secret behind-the-scenes details about the goings on at the North Pole! 

But no – taking on this herculean task isn’t enough!  Well, it is enough, but in my excitement, I forgot that it was, and so added even MORE to the holiday plate!!!  Not only did we have the annual countdown to Christmas advent calendar running (which has amazing treats and surprises for kids to come and find in colorful little cubbies from December 1 – 24….), but I also held craft sessions so kids could make gifts for a loved one!  Ahhhh – what was I thinking???  (Not to worry – a detailed “lessons learned” list was created and “HOST GIFT MAKING SESSIONS BEFORE THE SANTA PROJECT BEGINS” is written on it in bold letters…)  Oh, and I also set aside time to prep for and do an interview with the Washington Post about the project, smack dab in the middle of it!!  The story made the print edition (and online) on December 10^th.  I am very honored that Theresa Vargas wrote the piece and feel that it beautifully captures the spirit of the project.  I wish that you could hear the author read it aloud.  I had that honor and it made me cry.  Think about that!  I obviously knew the story – I had interviewed for it and was living it!  But hearing Ms. Vargas’ voice tell me the story over the phone was magical.  You can read it here:  Mrs. Claus Is Ready

Now, while this special project is going on, “regular life” must continue, too.  The Little Yellow Free Pantry must be filled.  The Daily Poll must be changed.  Bills must be paid.  Work must be done.  People who need to borrow fancy outfits to wear to holiday events must be shown the Fancy Outfit Library.  It is not like those normal daily activities PAUSE during Santa season…  (Though, in all honesty, things like cleaning the house, or going to the eye doctor at the scheduled time, or getting enough sleep – THOSE things were squeezed out of the calendar to make space for Santa.  And the task of making and writing our annual Christmas cards has still not happened, a month later!  Nor has buying gifts for my own friends and family!!!) 

But back to what you are here to read about – the SANTA PROJECT!!

Great drawing of Santa from Maddie!

Like all Kindness Activist projects, this one is not needs based.  This one is MAGIC BASED!

And as always, the letters from children were amazing, delightful, funny, sad, and every other emotion you can think of.  Some made me laugh out loud.  Some made me cry.  And some forced me to take photos of them to send to the adult connected with the writer to ask for a translation because I could not read what was written 😊 . 

For those new to this project, a little explanation.  We have a beautiful bright red shiny desk that sits in a place of honor in front of our home during Santa season.  On the desk are:  blank paper, envelopes, writing instruments (crayons, pens, colored pencils, pencils), and candy canes for those who finish their letter.  The instructions on the desk tell letter writers to include:  their name, their age, if they have been good or bad this year (this will change for 2023), 3 ideas of small gifts that Santa can choose from for them, and their adult’s name and phone number.  When they finish their letter, they seal it in an envelope and pop it in the mailbox labeled “North Pole” next to the desk (we got a shiny new mailbox this year!).  They then put the red mailbox flag up, and can be certain that their letter will reach Santa!! 

In reality, of course, the red flag means that we have INCOMING LETTERS so we rush out to retrieve them.  Each and every letter sent gets a reply from Santa (written by me).  The replies are by far my favorite part of the project.  They mean more to me than the gifts, because the letters from Santa are (in my opinion) where the magic happens!  And, because this is year 3 of this project, I have historical information that I can peek at to make the reply letters even more special!!  I can look back at last year’s spreadsheet and see that, for example, Lissy got Junie B. Jones books as part of her gift in 2021, and Vahn got wooden toy food to use to practice the fine motor skill of cutting.  That means Santa can mention those “secret things that only he knows” in this year’s letter!  For example, “Did you read those Junie B. Jones book I brought you last year??  Weren’t they so funny?!!” or “So Vahn, have you been having fun playing with the food the elves made for you last year??”.  And, because of the historical info, I can also sometimes see what is happening in the child’s family.  For example, if a child asked for a gift for a soon-to-be-born sibling in 2021, in 2022 I can congratulate them for being such a great big brother/sister.  Or, if they reported in 2021 that they had difficulty being good, Santa can check in on that and ask about improvements.  Or, like one letter writer, if they asked in 2021 for a Covid vaccine for children (an actual request), in 2022 Santa can celebrate with them that the vaccines are now available!  Being able to look back on past letters to and from Santa really helps to add more magic and, I think, stretch out the amount of time that little letter writers believe.  Many parents have commented that the letters are their favorite part, too.  Some parents tell me that they are saving the letters from Santa.  What an honor! 

One big change in the project this year was opening it up and asking for more HELP.  The first year, I did it all alone (well, I roped by partner David in to assist, but the vast majority was done by me).  In year two, I asked for volunteers to help WRAP GIFTS.  I quickly realized how invaluable that assistance was!!  And in year three, I made an Amazon Wish List and shared it with the public so that whoever wanted to get involved could grant wishes that were asked for in letters.  Oh.  My.  Goodness!!  I was bowled over by people’s generosity and support!!!!  In previous years, Kindness Activist funds covered the cost of all of the gifts.  This year, GENEROUS DONORS covered the majority!!!  Y’all amaze and inspire me!  The fact that people all around the country were willing to step in and buy gifts for kids they had never met, to fulfill wishes from letters they had not even read, blew me away.  Seriously, donated gifts arrived in Amazon boxes every day!!  Some had gift slips with the names of donors, others “Santa-ed” me and just signed the slips “Santa” or “an elf”.  I am still not caught up with writing all of the thank you notes for those gift donations.  Little by little, I am getting them done.  This was a very important lesson for me.  people.  Want.  To.  Help.  People want to be kind!!!  Sometimes they do not know where to go to express that desire or how to do it.  Giving them the opportunity to help fund this project allowed the load to be split – the cost spread out among many, many people.  This freed up Kindness Activist funds and will allow them to be used in many creative ways instead of spending such a large percentage of the total fund on the Santa Project.

At the Big Yellow House (aka the “North Pole”) it is not “one letter/one gift”.  Oh no siree.  I would guess that the average letter writer got 2 ½ gifts this year.  And EACH ONE was individually wrapped by volunteer elves who seemed to be in our basement every single day of the project.  The presents were gorgeous!!!  Each one also had a “topper” – a decorative item on top – to make them super special.  And each one was tagged and signed from Santa. 

As disorganized as it looks around the Big Yellow House during Santa season, there is some method to the madness.  This year David was in charge of alphabetizing the gifts so that they could be more easily retrieved when it was time to give them.  He set up tables all around the house – one held letters A – D, one E – G, you get the picture.  There were gift everywhere – on both floors of the house!  It was magnificent!!  Fun fact:  the most popular names in our area start with the letters A – I .

This is not close to all of the gifts!!  Some had already been picked up, some where still downstairs...  This is just when we came up for air and thought, "Hey, we better document this with a photo!"

I mentioned earlier that some people got gifts from Santa this year even though they did not write him a letter.  Those were special cases, like the woman who left a note in the Little Yellow Free Pantry asking for maseca (flour used to make tortillas), oil, and gifts for her children.  And the Amazon driver who made delivery after delivery after delivery – her sons got gifts from Santa.  And the two strong women who took in a teenager to provide foster care when it was desperately needed – they got a gift from Santa (as did the teen – the teen was showered with gifts from magical donors).  And the woman from Guatemala who works cleaning a neighbor’s home – she is a hard-worker, single parent with 6 daughters – THEY got gifts from Santa.  And the brother and sister who get a snack and drink at the Little Yellow Free Pantry everyday (because, as the girl explained, “Our mom has enough money to get food, but not snacks”) – Santa brought them gifts, too.  And the little boy who was visiting from Canada and walked over with his little friends so they could pick up gifts Santa had left them??  Oh yes, he got a gift.  And the kids of a neighbor struggling financially and emotionally – Santa knows.  Sometimes letters are not possible when life itself is overwhelming.  Santa gets it.

And, like everything in life, there were some special stories.  One family with 3 kids was going out of town for the holidays, so Santa was holding their gifts until they returned.  Only, while they were on vacation, their rental car got BROKEN INTO and the “bad guys” (as reported by the children) stole gifts that Santa (the other Santa, not this one…) had already given them!!  Well, they wrote another letter to this Santa, and, with some quick communication back and forth with their mother, the gifts were replaced when they got back to Arlington.  They were thrilled!

One adult wrote a letter that really touched my heart.

 

Obviously, Santa couldn’t bring him what he asked for, but David and I tried to track him down.  He had written his address on the letter but when we went there no one was home.  And the phone number he gave does not work.  But we will keep trying.  Santa can’t give his family a safe home, but Kindness Activist most certainly can hook him up with something nice.

One girl who wrote to Santa is in America as a refugee from Ukraine.  She and her mother are super sweet – quiet, kind, and nice people.  They seem relieved to have a safe place to stay while the war rages on in their home country, but are eager for peace to come to Ukraine so they can return.

 

Santa could not put an end to the bloodshed, but he most definitely granted every other wish this child asked. 

One girl included a gift for SANTA in her letter - $2!!  It was the sweetest thing and made me cry.  This Santa always roots for the underdog, and the meek and humble kids tend to get showered with gifts.  So not only did this girl get the Skittles she asked for, she got a lot more.

I LOVE that she referenced 3 holidays in her letter to Santa. 
We live in a very diverse community, and kids of many faiths wrote letters.

Sometimes the magic extends beyond the letter to Mr. Claus. A little boy showed up one foggy, drizzly evening to write a letter.  It was dark and the desk was damp, but we dried it off so he could sit down and compose.  When he was finished, he shyly interpreted for his mother, who wanted to ask if it was ok for them to take some items from the Little Yellow Free Pantry.  I explained that food is always available and is for everyone, and they should take whatever they need at any time.  I went in to the pantry supply area and packed some bags of groceries for them.  The mamma was very, very grateful.  After we loaded the things in their vehicle, she quietly asked the boy to interpret again.  She wanted to know if it would be ok to write a letter to Santa for another child, her grown son with Downs Syndrome.  Of course!!!  Second letter composed and “mailed”.  Then, before they left, she very meekly asked the son to interpret again.  Might it be possible, she asked, that I knew where they could get a bed??  It turned out that the family was in desperate need.  Mamma had gotten them out of a bad situation, and they had nothing.  Because I was already overwhelmed with everything Santa related, I could not take on the task of coordinating and collecting all that was needed.  But a volunteer quickly raised her hand, and the community stepped up to support the family.  In just a couple of days they had a bed, sheets (they had been sleeping on old mattresses on the floor with no sheets), new pillows, blankets, and other much needed items. 

I wish that I could scan and share loads of letters kids wrote here.  But this story is already long enough, so I will choose just a few to show you. 

This child was very PRECISE in his description of his behavior - 85% good!

Agreed!  The "elvs" are very cute!

"Art splis" you want, art splis you shall receive!

This child has got to be one of the very kindest in the world.  

Yeah for Cheez-Its!!

Girl stop.  You had me at DISCO BALL....

Beautiful drawing!

It's always good when kids DRAW what they want!  (At first I thought she was asking for broccoli...)

Envelope addressed to Santa

This one warmed my heart - he explained what his brother wanted, too.  Their mom sent a video after they opened the gifts, and he nailed it on the request for his brother!  It was perfect.

Sometimes you have to read them ALOUD to figure out the phonetic spelling :)  

Another honest report - this letter writer has struggled.  His mom provided additional details so that Santa could write a response that might help with some behavior.

I love this letter.  She is so honest in reporting her behavior and feelings.  Adults could learn a thing or two from her.  Also, she asked for a gift for her MOM instead of herself!!

This one cracked me up - under the scratch out he wrote "not this" - just in case Santa didn't understand.

Beautiful self-portrait of a writer

This one was very magical.  Her dad rang the doorbell a few days AFTER the letter writing station had closed.  He was desperate to find a place just to MAIL this letter to the North Pole that his daughter had already written.  I brought the mailbox back out, he brought the child around, and she mailed it.  Then we set about making the magic happen!  Only, there ARE NO SHORT HAIR MERMAID DOLLS!!  So an amazing neighbor who is a stylist gave a mermaid doll a great haircut.  And another neighbor donated a beautiful "feder"!  

Luckily Santa knows some elves that are great translators....

     

This one is addressed "Dear Santa".  Something must've happened between mailing THIS, and dropping off the thank you note that follows....

Isn't she sweet???  

Another very honest letter from a 5 year old who was both good and bad...

There will always be some wishes that are impossible for Santa to grant:

-         For me and my friends to be best friends forever

-         For an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine

-         A sister

-         Peace of mind and a home for my family

And just to be clear, being Santa is by no means a thankless job!  Lots of people express their gratitude.  One parent texted, “Thank you!  My kids loved the letter and present from Santa!  My youngest kept reading the letter the whole morning.  You have brought joy to this family!”.  Another wrote, “The girls LOVE their gifts and the thoughtful letters!  Bless you.”  From another, “Kids were over the moon with all your kind gifts.  Thank you so very much.  God bless!”.  One mom texted, “Thank you once more for making so many lives happier!”.  And sometimes kids themselves drop off thank you notes at our home (to be forwarded to the North Pole, obviously…).

Some behind the scenes details:

Popular asks for 2022:  Lego, Squishmallows, stuffies, Pokemon, Hot Wheels

Some of my favorite gifts:  hot sauce, hoola hoop, Skittles, a short haired mermaid Barbie, art supplies, Play Doh, Hot Wheels garage (it was huge – for 2 brothers – their eyes LIT UP when they saw the size of the box), wooden food, a cool school bus, a garbage truck, a little mamma cat with a zipper in her tummy that when you unzipped it, revealed KITTENS (it was a bit “c-section” looking but very cute), a HUGE Hershey kiss, “treasures or gems” (aka shiny rocks), and Cheez-Its (yes, someone asked for Cheez-Its). 

Funniest wrapping: Elf Betsy is an expert wrapper, and she got ahead of me and couldn’t wrap more gifts, because I did not have letters from Santa ready.  So, she really took her time on the one gift that was ready: a small Nintendo Switch game.  She wrapped it in a box.  Then wrapped that box in another box.  And that box in another box…  And on and on and on.  The end result was a BIG PRESENT that weighed very little.  I was able to witness the boy come to pick it up, and he looked both surprised and confused….  He had only asked for the one thing, the small game cartridge.  Yet here he was getting a big box.  I wish I could’ve watched him open it!

KINDNESS ACTIVIST FUNDS USED:  $1561.09 (this includes shipping a few gifts, a new tree skirt for the Community Tree of Celebration where the gifts were all displayed for pick-up, some ribbons and wrapping paper, batteries for gifts that needed them, and gifts!)  This number would have been SO MUCH HIGHER without the generous support of people all around the country who pitched in and granted wishes from the Amazon wish list!  Thank you!

Thank yous go out to:

·       Countless elves for wrapping tons of gifts

·       Donors of wrapping paper, boxes, and ribbon

·       Friends who knew we were not eating right and delivered meals 

·       Gifts of homemade cookies and treats

·       Magical elves who delivered gifts to households who could not come pick them up or who we only had an address for

·       Gifts of bottles of wine (aka “elf juice”) that kept us going

·       Elves who heard my pleas to run to Target to pick up gifts I had ordered and brought them back to our house

·       Jessica for making the letters for the new mailbox and sign

·       Adults willing to let the kids in their lives participate in the magic

·       Pantry volunteers who helped out keeping the pantry stocked when I could not find the time or energy to do it

·       Ixi and Ivanna who translated lots of Santa letters into Spanish

·       Vera who translated letters into Ukrainian

·       The many, many donors who granted gifts from the Amazon wish list – because of your generosity, Kindness Activist funds will be able to be used for many, many more projects and surprises this year!

·       Adults who trusted us to take care of your kids while they made crafts to give as gifts

·       Donors who kept food and toiletries coming for the Little Yellow Free Pantry during the chaos of December

·       Heather who helped with the Fancy Outfit Library holiday rush

·       Theresa Vargas of the Washington Post, who so eloquently captured the essence of the project

·       Heather, stylist extraordinaire, who gave a mermaid Barbie a bob and reglued the package so it looked like she came that way

·       Parents who sent photos and videos of their kids reading their letters from Santa and opening their gift

·       And anyone else who, in my exhaustion, I have overlooked

#ItTakesAVillage

#HolidayMagic

#SantaProject

#KindnessActivist 

#BelieveInTheMagic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday Magic

Another day filled with writing letters from Santa (soooo close to done I can taste it – trying to decipher a few really hard ones that kids wrote that are left).  MORE Amazon deliveries (including the coveted collectibles that a very special child requested that this elf feared might be late, but the holiday gods shone down and they were delivered even quicker than the specialty website said they would be).

I put out an ELF EMERGENCY call for people to come wrap and elves came running.  Seriously, so many beautiful people have contributed to this amazingly huge effort.

And the Amazon woman.  Oh, the Amazon woman.

She brought a verrrry big delivery a couple of weeks ago.  As she hauled box after bag after box after box to the front porch (not to worry, I helped her carry), we talked.  I explained the Santa Project, and let her know that her hard work of delivering all of these gifts was going to make a LOT of children happy.  I asked if she had kids.  Turns out she has 2.  “Well, they deserve gifts from Santa!  What are their names, ages, and what would they like??” I asked.  She smiled, answered my questions, and gave me her phone number.  I said I would let her know when they were ready to be picked up.  Ironically, of course, they were ordered from Amazon, the very company she delivers for (as a contractor, Amazon doesn’t hire drivers apparently). 

 

She did another delivery here a couple of days ago and rang the doorbell to pick up the promised gifts, only they weren’t wrapped yet (and Santa hadn’t written their reply letters either).  She figured she would be delivering in the area again, no worries.  Only, the next time she came back, same problem – not ready.  I felt so bad.  “Hey, where do you live?  We will DELIVER them,” I told her.  “Maryland…” she answered, making it sound like it must be a part of Maryland not too close to us.

 

We finally had the gifts ready and arranged a time for her to grab them at the end of her route in the area, but she was busy and forgot.  Yesterday when we talked she said she would make a trip out to our house to get them today.  “The 10 B bus runs right by your home.”

 

Wait, what?  She drives and makes deliveries for a living, but will take the bus to our home? 

 

That’s when I realized that she has always been in a rental van when she delivers…  I bet she spends her own hard-earned money to rent a van to work.

 

She called from the train as she was on her way over today, and that’s when I realized, I had made gifts for her sons (really cute hoodies and a cool Star Wars hologram-like puzzle) but no gift for HER.  That had to change.

 

I quickly wrapped up something special just for her; body spray, a very fancy chocolate bar, fancy lip gloss, and a really pretty bracelet.  I put some decorative items on top of the package, then sat down for the most important part: writing the letter from Santa.

 

So many of the letters are difficult to write.  Sure, there are the easy replies to kids who just say, “I’ve been good, please give me x, y, z…”.  But what to reply to the Ukrainian girl who asks for an end to the bloodshed (her words)?  What to reply to the child who just got placed with a foster family and has nothing?  And what to reply to the extremely hard-working woman who is taking a bus a long distance to pick up gifts for her children??

 

I composed the letter and was proud of the result.  It said what it needed to say – encouragement, compassion, respect, and empathy for how difficult it must be to raise two young black men in this country. 

 

I had all of the gifts under the Community Tree of Celebration when she arrived.  We greeted one another, and I realized that I needed to get a plastic bag for her to transport the gifts as it was raining.  I ran in, grabbed a big blue Ikea bag, and brought it out to her.  She was holding one gift – the shared gift for the two boys, the puzzle.  “Oh, that bag is way too big!” she said, “I just need a grocery bag,”.  I turned to the tree and pointed to the other gifts, “But those are all for your family”. 

 

She hadn’t realized and was taken aback.  “Really??  You are gonna make me tear up!”. 

 

We picked up the presents and put them in the big blue bag, then covered that with garbage bags for good measure.  As we worked, we talked.  She said she has the next few days off work, then will start back up again.  We talked about Amazon returns, and she said, “If Amazon won’t take it back, you can give it to someone else!!  Or give it to the Salvation Army, they are GOOD PEOPLE.  They helped me a LOT!”.

 

She went on to explain how the Salvation Army came to her home when she was on government assistance and saw that she had no furniture.  “It was just me and one son then, but the Salvation Army gave him a bed, gave me a QUEEN SIZE BED, 2 dressers, an antique rocking chair and rocking footstool…” and on and on she went, explaining in detail with a gleam in her eyes all of the magical things that were bestowed on her, things that she couldn’t buy because furniture is so expensive.  She was so very grateful.  “Then, guess what??  They gave us 4 TVs!!  4!  For only 2 people!  And I told them that was too many, but they said, ‘Then sell them!’  But no, I didn’t feel right selling them after they were given to me.  So, do you know what I did?  I gave them away as Christmas gifts!!  I gave one to someone I knew.  The other, I walked up to a stranger’s house.  I put a note that said, “Merry Christmas from Santa” on the tv, and I left it right in front of the door!!”. 

 

What magic!!  This woman who I was trying to surprise with a gift had herself spread the very same magic to a stranger herself!!!

 

“And do you know what?” she went on.  “Those people I gave that tv to – they had Ring doorbell video of me, and they tried for two years to find me to thank me!!  They hired a private investigator!  He found me through social media and came to serve me a warrant.  Only, he said that the warrant said I didn’t need to show up in court, I needed to go to an address listed on it”.  Well, she went to the address, and the people who she had gifted the television to were so happy to finally know who had been their magical Santa.

 

When she was ready to leave, I popped inside and grabbed an umbrella for her (we have brand new ones from Kindness Activist to give to people in just this kind of situation – everyone deserves an umbrella in the rain). “Hey!!” she smiled at me, “You just gave me my very favorite color!!”.  Meant to be.

 

What a beautiful soul.  Working so very hard.  Traveling quite a distance to pick up gifts for her kids who she obviously adores. 

 

I hope she is surprised when she realizes that one of the gifts is for her.  I think she will be.  And I hope that the letter from Santa will extend her belief in the magic of the season and give her strength to keep on keepin’ on. 

 

Note:  I asked if I could share this selfie we took on social media and she said yes.  She is a terrific ambassador for KINDNESS (and for Amazon).