Bookmarks

We begin our week on Monday with an early morning trek around the lake, followed by a pit stop at the post office where five freshly painted packages weighing close to 140 pounds, and piled high in a little green wagon, begin their long journey from California to the east coast.
















Their final destination: Iraq.

An email the Friday before confirms the arrival of our Christmas letters in the first box sent nearly two weeks ago and we begin to get a glimpse of this Sergeant's heart.

Pictures help us put a face to her name. She is no longer a stranger, but our friend. She has three sisters, too, and lives less than an hour's drive from our home. Coincidence? Maybe. She shares more with us about her deployment along with another photograph of herself and one of the other soldiers she works closely with...a soldier who just happens to be the very same Corporal we randomly chose last week to send darts to. Another coincidence? Perhaps.

With $70.00 left over from money I'd set aside for shipping, I ask if there is a particular soldier who might benefit from a little extra attention. She writes back with a few ideas:

I have one Marine who hasn't received many boxes at all and he is one of my best technicians and one of my best Marines.

I admit, Cpl. Michael DelMuro has become a favorite part of this whole journey. How many times do I get an opportunity to surprise someone I've never met with a small gift? I try to imagine if he might give thought to how a total stranger could pack a box with his name written all over it...and a few of his favorite things inside it.

Then it is my turn to be surprised by the Sergeant when a bouquet of roses, my favorite flowers, greet me at my front door on a rainy afternoon.

This is Christmas. The best part of this holiday has already been bookmarked by two people on opposite ends of the earth who connected to make the world a better place. Yes, good people are still out there, making good things happen in this uncertain world we live in.