Giving

I do stuff like…

Come home from a long day of class to find a scrap of paper with a note written on it taped to my door. As I read the tiny paper I realized it was from Heidi, the note relayed the message that she stopped by to see if I wanted to come over for dinner that night but would be back at 18.30 to bring me something. Dang it I missed a free meal! But I was thrilled to see that she was coming back later. Time passed and I had some lovely homemade soup (thanks Kayla) and got some essential tasks done. Next thing I know I peek down at my watch (which was an amazing investment Mary and Shan) and its 19.00. Now I’m worried or wondering if I read it wrong or if she couldn’t get it or something. I slid over to look at the note again and before I could even set it down again my doorbell rang (which is the same noise as the fire alarm, not a pleasant sound) but in this case I was overjoyed and leaped over my chair to the door. As I swung it open Heidi was standing in the hall with a jumbo size trash bag. I lunged at her and gave her a big hug and invited her inside.

She sat down and we chatted and she gave me the bag, which contained a big comfy yellow comforter and a sheet for my “loft” bed. Ever since she saw my limited silverware and one Tupperware container last week she was concerned about my food preparation methods. This became even more apparent when she explained that she wanted to take me to someone she knew who had some kitchen supplies to give me. Before she even finished explaining I had my boots and coat on headed to her car (which is confusing). We drove downtown to a big brick building and she called someone who then met us outside and led us up three flights of dully-lit stairs. We entered an office and the man switched the light on to my immediate surprise this man was the replica of Santa himself. He had the long white hair and beard, rosy cheeks; even his jolly laugh resembled the fictional Santa as he pointed to two sizable boxes on the desk. Santa and Heidi spoke in Norwegian for a few minutes as I just tried to read their faces. When the conversation came to a close Heidi turned to me and said that the man packed up these two boxes for me and I could just have them.

I stood there perplexed; I must have missed something. I don’t know this man, I barely know this woman and they are giving me a whole kitchen, comforters, and “rubbish” cans? I hugged Santa’s arm and thanked him in Norwegian. We lugged the boxes down the stairs and as you can imagine my arms were shaking by the time we got to the ground floor, glass dishes are not a lightweight. Heidi went around the corner and got the car and we loaded up and headed back to my apartment. I persistently thanked Heidi for everything and we talked some more. After she had left I unloaded the boxes and felt like Mary Poppins. It seemed like the bottom of the box didn’t exist and I just kept pulling more and more out of the container. There was everything from tea cups, saucers, ladles, forks, spoons, knives, glass cups, a COFFEE POT, coffee grounds, coffee filters, soup bowls, table clothes, candles, decorated plates of all assorted sizes, floral coffee mugs, pans, and the list goes on; lets just say my kitchen cabinets went from bare to brimming in a matter of seconds. (And yes I washed everything Mom, I’ve never been so happy to do dishes in all my life). A day that I thought would be relatively routine turned into a day of humbling grace and gratitude.