The Christmas Miracle of 2010

This year, I was worried that the spirit of Christmas was gone...so many people rushing around buying presents, being rude, making snarky comments.... it was sucking the life out of me and making the season so much less enjoyable.

Until the following story touched my life...

It all started with a group of girlfriends banding together and deciding to do 'something nice' for a friend in need.  Never mind we all live in different cities...and that some of us had never met each other 'in person'...

Because of the kindness of random strangers, and the spirit of Christmas, we were able to gift a friend in need with a $300 de-mousing service (generously donated by Rainbow Pest Experts in Minneapolis, MN) AS WELL AS with a $300 Visa gift card.

The following story is so remarkable, I don't know where to even begin... It all started when we decided that we wanted to do something nice for our said "friend in need" (hereby referred to as FIN).  We hemmed and hawed about what we could do that would be useful as well as needed: a housecleaning, a handyman, a spa gift certificate… Finally, since we knew about the rodent battles that ensued at FIN's house, we settled on getting a gift that could keep on giving – an EXTERMINATOR.

I googled pest companies in the Minneapolis area, and Rainbow Pest Experts came up – I thought, great! A locally owned small company – this is someone we should support. So I called them up and asked if they could do gift certificates - that we had a FIN who was going through a rough time during the holiday season, and that we wanted to do something nice for her.  I was directed to talk to Mike, so I told him of this wonderful plan that us girls had: we wanted to send our FIN a mouse in a mouse trap with a gift certificate tucked underneath for an exterminator to come in and take care of her mouse problem. I explained to him that we were all friends who had met through the Internet because we all had children born in Nov 2007, and we just wanted to help out a good friend who was going through a rough time during the Christmas season. Mike told me that they most definitely could do gift certificates and that he needed to check on something and get back to me.  The story must have inspired him, because he called me back and told me that Rainbow Pest Experts wanted to do the service for FREE– and that we should give our FIN the money we had collected so that she could have some pampering for herself!! I was in shock, in tears (as I am now writing this) and so amazed that the Christmas spirit did, in fact, still exist. 
Mike went out and put this together:

Oh my word, isn't it great!??!  Mike ROCKS!

And a week later, we sent a little envelope to our FIN with a $300 visa gift card inside. 

She was touched, and amazed and astounded....just as each of us that contributed to her gift were.  I love retelling the story...every time I do, I get little chills down my spine.  What a WONDERFUL and UNEXPECTED gift.  A what a WONDERFUL reminder that the SPIRIT of CHRISTMAS is still alive and present.

Merry Christmas to ALL!  And THANK YOU, Rainbow Pest Experts!