I have a very loving family, and each and every year they present me with surprises that both delight me and make me cry at Christmastime. Each gift is a treasure that I will forever be grateful for.
But, let me tell you about one special gift that I received this year.
About two weeks ago, my widowed neighbor, who we learned later had been ill for a while, was found dead in her home. I was devastated...not really because she had died, because I know what death is all about, but because I am her neighbor and hadn't even noticed that she wasn't picking up her mail from the mailbox right in front of our house. We would meet there on occasion and have a little conversation. I didn't really know her, but I knew how lonely she was...and I did nothing to resolve that for her. She had been gone for nearly eight days before her brother found her. I asked myself, 'What kind of a neighbor am I, that I could not be a better friend.' Her name was Vickie...that is all I knew about her.
On Christmas day, there came a knock on my front door, and it was my good friend Kay (my Choir accompanist) with a beautiful, blue glass float in her hand. She handed me this gift and then began to explain. Her daughter was a friend of Vickie's and would take meals over to her house during her illness. Apparently, Vickie had this awesome collection of glass floats in her home...more than one hundred...and Kay's daughter knew that Vickie had expressed to her at some point that she wanted to share her floats with someone who would love them as much as she did. And so, there was my gift!
I WILL love this glass float (which, by the way is a collector's item, as Lincoln City has a glass blowing factory where they are made, and they can be pretty pricey items! A couple of times each year, there is a committee that gets together and hides these floats on the beach for travelers and locals alike to search out, find and keep.) just as Vickie wanted me to. I will miss seeing my neighbor walking to the mailbox and I will miss our little chats, but I now have something to remember her by and cherish.
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