I’ve watched a lot of Christmas movies. A LOT! And this morning, I got to live a made-for-Christmas-movie moment, and I had to share. If anyone from Hallmark is reading this, shoot me an email and let’s do lunch.
But first, in the words of Gonzo from “Muppets Christmas Carol”, “…one thing you must remember, or nothing that follows will seem wondrous.” This all took place as part of my children’s request every year to take part in Operation Christmas Child. This is the program that brings shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts to children in need all around the world, and the national collection week for these started last Monday, and ended today.
And now, back to my “Jingle All the Way” morning… Several days ago, our children 
packed their shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. With the shoeboxes assembled, we looked at our local collection times, knowing there was a window to drop them off today. However, there is a big difference between 6-8 p.m. and 6-8 a.m.
I was uncharacteristically reading my newspaper (that’s this cool thing that you hold in your hands, and it has lots of stories of what’s happening in the world) in the morning, rather than at night. And there the words screamed at me – 6-8 a.m. It was 7:45 a.m. So I jumped up, yelling “Sara!” as I ran, and the flurry began – children throwing shoes and hoodies on, me grabbing the car keys, throwing final labels on the shoeboxes full of gifts, and rushing out the door.
As we pulled out of the driveway, we found the perfect song playing on the radio – “Wizards in Winter” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In case you haven’t heard it, I’ll pause for a moment so you can go listen to it. Done? Cool. I learned this morning that this song is the perfect ‘racing the clock to meet a Christmas deadline to brighten a child’s Christmas’ tune.
With the soundtrack set, I drove. Maybe fast. The clock ticked – 7:57, 7:58, 7:59…with my time conscious daughter asking, “Are we going to make it?”. And then 8:00. As we were one block away, the chimes started to play on the clock tower in our quaint small town square. We pulled into the drop off location with the chimes still ringing out.
There was a young man at the door, ready to close up, saying, “You got boxes?”, to which my words rang out, “You know those people who like waiting until the last minute? That’s us.” Literally, the last minute. As we dropped off the boxes, they walked the sign to the door saying, “This collection site is now closed.”
We made it! The boxes made it! And now, I wait for the call to make this into the next Christmas classic. Merry Christmas to all, and now, my morning coffee.
