How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!
~George Elliston
For the last two months, Duke Medical Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina had been our home while my husband Randy received treatment for an inoperable brain tumor. In early December Randy underwent his final radiation treatment and we received clearance from his doctors to return home to Kentucky. I knew this would be our last Christmas together.
There wasn’t much joy or Christmas spirit in my heart as our long journey ended and we entered our neighborhood that cold and snowy December night. But then I glimpsed a bit of yellow ribbon tied to a tree, fluttering in the wind, and then I saw another yellow ribbon tied to a tree in the next yard, and then another and another… an avenue of yellow ribbons welcomed us as we slowly drove down our street.
As we pulled into our driveway we saw a “Welcome Home” sign adorning the garage door. Fresh pine garland and ribbon trimmed the mailbox and the outdoor lights. Christmas candles glowed warmly in every window of our home.
Dazed, we opened the front door, stepped inside and found Christmas waiting for us. The tree, beautifully lit, stood in its place by the window. The ornaments, waiting to be hung, filled a basket under its limbs. Ribbon and pine graced the mantel and all of our Christmas decorations were lovingly and perfectly placed throughout our home. As Randy and I walked, virtually speechless from room to room, we discovered small Christmas gifts, bearing our names, tucked here and there throughout the house and the refrigerator and freezer filled with casseroles and fruit.
Rather than coming home and frantically pulling the Christmas boxes and bins out of the attic and simultaneously unpacking our suitcases, Randy and I spent our first morning at home leisurely watching it snow, drinking hot cocoa and hanging ornaments on our tree. We wrapped Christmas gifts, made soup, and sat by the fire holding hands reminiscing about Christmases long ago. The selfless love of our friends who gathered together and readied our home for our return served as a loving reminder of the true spirit of Christmas. These friends gave the best of themselves — their most precious gifts of time and talent and love — and there are no sweeter gifts than those.
~Shannon Erickson
