The Elves that Go Bump in the Night

Most of the time things that go bump in the night scare us, but these elves are the ones we rarely see that give us something that we need and want. Early in the morning we hear the far off din of the garbage truck that stops at our house way before dawn. The newspaper lies on the driveway as if it magically fell from the sky. Our mailbox automatically contains mail with our name on it, even though there are hundreds of mailboxes in the community area. One day when the edge of one of our pieces of mail had been torn, the elf wrote a note that simply said, “I’m so sorry.”

As long as the trash is picked up, the newspaper is delivered and the mail is in the box, I don’t think much about it. Well, I do if it isn’t there. Then my first thought is how did they miss me in their deliveries? Then the next thought may be that they are unreliable. I wonder if maybe it is a holiday. But then my thinking bounces back to, if they couldn’t make today’s run, then why didn’t their boss find someone else? Typically my thoughts don’t turn to possibly something happening to the person who is the elf.

Several months ago, the mail wasn’t in the box at the normal time. I went back several hours later to find the box still empty. It is a rare day that we don’t get any mail at all. The next day we saw the article in the paper that our letter carrier had been involved in a tragic accident. It jolted me out of my “me” world and into reality.

I had expected to leave a note of sympathy and support for her in our mailbox, but never did. I decided to right that oversight. My gift for today was writing a postcard and putting it in the mailbox for the postal carrier that told her I appreciated what she did and her attention to detail.

This is a reminder to me to acknowledge the “elves” in my life by letting them know I appreciate what they do. And if I’m lucky I may even bump into them so that I can say what a wonderful difference they make for me.

In giving,

Robin