Canada in a box

Happy Holidays! I love Xmas but I refuse to shop for presents; my family is blessed in many ways and I prefer to donate to a good cause rather than buy items my relatives don't truly need. I also enjoy spending Xmas on my own, which also hasn't made me too popular with my family. But as I always like to say, "There's family and there's people you're related to." Yesterday I received a lovely card from my cousin and her four kids; Ship of Souls is dedicated to her eldest boy, Kodie, and he messaged me on Facebook to let me know a package was on its way. Sure enough, it arrived yesterday as well and so this morning—for the first time in years—I sat down to open the presents under my little tree. I *love* that they sent me a kind of Canadian capsule—note the moose cookie (ok, it's probably a reindeer but we have a moose thing in Canada), the Toronto Maple Leaf pencils, the candy that you can't get down here (I don't think). Plus four groovy gel pens, a journal that's *perfect* for a lefty like me (I can't write in books with a spine), and a lovely scarf in my favorite colors…plus the card had numerous penguin stickers and a *fox* stamp (we love foxes! and notice how the post office printed "Santa" and "Père Noël" on it). So I'm feeling very festive right now and will head to the park soon before gluing myself to the laptop for a day of writing. Yesterday I was grading exams on the platform at Union Square and as the train pulled into the station, the woman next to me said, "Excuse me, aren't you the author of…" and she reached into her bag and pulled out a copy of Wish! Sometimes a series of small things can have a big impact…