A Gift Unexpected

IT WAS THE day before Christmas; to me, it seemed it should be the end of the world. What a bummer, I thought, as I struggled to open the shack door and get in out of the driving rain. I had been in town running errands, buying groceries, and picking up my cleaning. A cold winter rainstorm had not dimmed the holiday spirit for these Northern Californians as they rushed to finish their last-minute Christmas shopping. But the excitement of the throngs of people and the sounds of holiday music only pushed my mood to lower depths.