Christmas Eve Miracles

After the party, the boys were all tuckered out so I let them rest while I went about cleaning up. I don't know what it was that reminded me, but all of the sudden it hit me that it was Christmas Eve, the 12th day before Christmas and I was supposed to have delivered the 12th present to a family that I was participating in doing the 12 days of Christmas for! A quick look at the time and it was already after 11:00pm, and then the panic of realizing I had already gotten a gift but I had failed to pick up 12 of anything to deliver along with it! (One of those things on the shopping list that is never written down but lurks around in my head waiting to magically come to my remembrance while I'm shopping). I looked down at what I was doing- cleaning up from the party and realized I had just packed up the remaining cupcakes. I rushed over and counted them...one, two, three....I had exactly 12! I had no other choice but to make those the gift for their final day and really it felt like a bit of a miracle that I had remembered first of all and then that I had exactly 12 of anything. I was slightly saddened that I hadn't even eaten a cupcake myself, but to confess something I probably shouldn't- Matt reminded me that there was one left with a single bite out of it, who knows who took the bite. I rationalized that they are all family and satisfied my desire for a cupcake by eating the rest of it. It was delicious!

 I rushed around wrapping the cupcakes, typing up the secret letter, etc. and when I went to grab my coat to run out the door it was no where to be found. So strange, I swear I just saw it hanging in my closet, but nope- it wasn't there. I settled on a sweat shirt that is warm but that I honestly am not very fond of because it fits me funny. And then it happened- the second Christmas Eve Miracle, (remembering and having 12 cupcakes was the first miracle!) I felt a bulge in the front pocket of my sweatshirt and thought I must have left a lipstick or something in there last time I wore it. When I put my hand in to retrieve the mystery item I was utterly shocked to open my hand and find my ring! My long lost Fleur de lis ring- the first piece of my brothers' jewelry I ever owned. It was a Christmas present years ago and I had been missing it for over a year. (Last November was the last time I could actually remember wearing it.) I had even asked Matt to get me a new one for Christmas having given up on ever finding it again, and here it was, a little tarnished but precious none the less. I am pretty sure I screamed with delight, it was just like opening a present and in a way I felt like it was my present for going out that night. Had I not decided to go deliver that gift I might have never found it because that sweatshirt is one that will likely be thrown in a pile of give-away stuff the next time I clean out the closet and some lucky person at DI would be in possession of my cherished ring. It truly made my night to find it.

I departed from the house at 11:26pm and had a bit of a drive ahead of me. I ended up going by myself but I don't mind that sometimes. I had Christmas music blaring in the car and time to soak in the spirit of Christmas, thinking of all my many blessings and feeling the joy of the season. I got to the house around 11:45pm. I didn't want to get caught and was worried about how that was going to work when I was both the deliverer and the get away driver! I saw a neighbor or someone walking up to a neighbors house a few doors down and nearly stopped them to see if they would run the present up there for me, but I chickened out and decided to do it myself. I parked a few houses down on the opposite side of the road and backed the car up nearly bumper to bumper with another one on the street (my license plate has my name on it so it is kind of a give-away!) I turned out all the lights, grabbed my presents, exited the car and snuck up to the house. The porch was all lit up but I was quiet as a mouse. I put the presents down and banged on the door three times. They had a metal screen door which is great for making lots of noise. Then I took off running, my heart was pounding and my flip flops (bad choice) where smacking the ground with a loud noise giving away my every step. Somehow I made it back to the car, I hid between my car and the one I had backed up to not ready to open my car door quite yet in case I was giving myself away. I peeped up and looked through the window in front of me, no one had followed. The entire street was calm and quiet. I sat still for a little while and then it appeared that no one was coming and I was safe. I rushed into the car but from where I was I couldn't see if the presents had been picked up or not, curiosity got the better of me and I had to drive by to see, so I did. There they were still sitting there. Had they not heard my loud banging? I guess some people must go to bed before midnight on Christmas Eve! I didn't quite know what to do, they had already had one present stolen from their porch this year so I was a bit worried. I called Matt for advice but in the end I decided not try knocking again. I laughed because I realized the cupcakes were a blessing, what stranger would want them? The real present was safely hidden inside the card so I just trusted that they would find it in the morning and know that they weren't forgotten.

What a rush it all was. I went home happy listening to Christmas music the whole way. When I got home I finished up cleaning and you would never believe it but Santa appeared right after I finished. He was a bit surprised to find me still awake but what a joy it was to get to help him! I had hoped Matt would have stayed up long enough to catch him too, but he and Ollie slept through the whole thing. The elves hadn't had time to assemble Ollie's car so I volunteered to finish it up for Santa so he could get onto other houses and sent him on his merry way. As I was looking at all the parts, directions, and putting it together in the middle of the night I thought to myself that I was pretty sure this was a job Matt should have been doing. But in the end I was proud of myself for doing it all by myself. I then went about wrapping presents and delivering them under the Christmas tree. I love wrapping presents. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and like to consider myself a "professional" wrapper. When I was young my father and I volunteered wrapping presents at the mall, back then the church did it as a fund raiser at Christmas time. He taught me how to meticulously fold and wrap to perfection and I still think of those fun memories with him each time I wrap Christmas presents. I also love glittery paper, ribbons and bows. I usually go all out, but this year I kept the ribbons and such to a minimum I just had too many to wrap.

With every last piece in place at 3:35am I took a picture of the magic my boys would wake up to. Already it was feeling like a very Merry Christmas!