Unexpected Gifts From Unexpected Places

Sandy pressed her nose against the cold, hard window and gazed in at all the colorful toys and cheerful faces in the shop. Children's eyes lit up like stars as they bounced through the isles, tinkering with toys and buzzing with glee. Sandy didn't want to go inside with empty pockets so she began to do what she did best: imagine. Her imagination was as vivid and real as most anything else you could touch. She imagined her parents happy and laughing with her as they sipped hot cocoa and shared cheerful stories. She imagined giving her mother such a thoughtful gift that it made her feel well again. She imagined giving her father such a wonderful gift that it made him feel happy again. This was a difficult year for Sandy's family and she wanted nothing more than to bring the cheer back into their home. She longed to make her parents' hearts smile again. She couldn't buy a gift for her parents this year, but she could make one, so she walked down the street to look for inspiration. 

She kept walking until she reached her favorite place in the whole town- the community garden. It was maintained by local volunteers and could be enjoyed by anyone for free. In the summer it was always bursting with juicy red tomatoes, bright yellow squash, and so many different shades of green it made even the saddest person smile. 2020 was a hard year for everyone, but the community garden was a sign of hope that no matter how bad things could get, there would always be food in the garden. Sandy came every day in the summer to tend the garden, but now the vibrant shades of green were replaced with shades of brown and grey. April sulked as she walked through the rows of dead plants that she once knew and loved. Oh, how she longed to see them green again! She longed for it so much that she imagined the whole garden turning green right before her eyes. She saw the red tomatoes, the yellow squash, the green cucumbers and the orange peppers! It was Sandy's own special kind of paradise. Just as she was about to leave she noticed a real flash of color in the corner of her eye. She walked toward the color that was nestled in the corner of the garden and was so overjoyed to see three different shades of green poking out of the ground! She was so happy that she dropped to her knees in front of them and breathed in their scent. "Mmmmm, rosemary! And sage! And thyme! What strong herbs you are, to stay alive during this time." She used her fingernails to clip off a few pieces of each herb and stuffed them into her coat pockets. 

When she got home she tied them up in bundles and hung them from a clothing hanger to dry. After a couple weeks went by she was so excited to clip them off and transform them into something special for her parents for Christmas. All of her best ideas always came from the kitchen, so she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets to see if she could find any inspiration. She pulled out a glass jar filled with olive oil and a container of salt. She rummaged through the recycling bin and pulled out an old soy sauce container and a glass jar that was once home to some raspberry jam. Then she took them to the sink and cleaned them well. When they were dry she filled the soy sauce container with olive oil and the jam jar with salt. She chopped up half of the herbs, placed them in the salt jar, and shook it up as hard as she could. Now she had an herbed salt to give Dad for his famous herbed potatoes! The next step was to place the remaining stalks of herbs into the soy sauce jar. She poured the oil over the herbs until the container was full. Now she had an herbal oil to give Mom for her famous salad dressing! Sandy was so proud of her creations that she imagined her parents smiling with the same pride and joy that she felt now. 

When Christmas morning finally came, Sandy ran down the stairs so fast that Charlie the cat ran and hid under the sofa, completely unaware of what the commotion was all about. She was the first one awake like always, so she decided to make breakfast for her parents. She carefully cut up some fruit and put it on a platter. Then she whipped up some pancake batter from a box of mix she found in the cupboard. She sprinkled some dark chocolate chips in the batter and began scooping it into the pan. When she saw tiny bubbles appear at the top she flipped them over. She loved to watch the chocolate chips melt right before her eyes! When the pancakes were done she decided to set the table. She laid every fork, knife, plate and cup down with care. She wanted it to be a magical sight to behold!

When her parents came downstairs they were surprised to see the table fully set with pancakes and fruit on festive platters. On each of their seats laid their special gift from Sandy. When her mother realized what she had done she gasped and her eyes filled up with tears. She had seen her mother cry many times before for many different reasons, especially this year. But this was the first time in a long time that she had seen her mother cry these different kind of tears. It was the kind that she had seen her mother cry when Sandy graduated kindergarten, and when she took her first steps. It was the kind of tears that Sandy knew were the good kind, the special kind. 

"These gifts are for you! Open them!" Sandy exclaimed excitedly as she pointed to the gifts she had wrapped with paper bags from the grocery store. 

They carefully opened them and were shocked to see the herbal concoctions that Sandy had made. They shared a long glance at each other before pulling Sandy into a big hug.

    "You are a very special girl, Sandy," her father said. "These gifts are so thoughtful, but the thing we are most thankful for of all is having you as our daughter," he said with a smile.

"You bring so much love and happiness into our lives, more than you could ever imagine!" her mother added as she pulled her into another hug.

Sandy didn't even need to open her presents to know that she had already gotten what she wished for: to make their hearts smile.