These days a lot of people have enough money to buy what they want and what they need whenever they need or want it. So coming up with just the right gift is a thunderbolt, paramount, and awesome!
Last summer when our adult children and their families came to visit, some of the adult children – who generally have a great time with life – decided they would go cemetery hunting. Okay, so they called it ghost hunting. It was already sliding on to evening, so my husband located his headlamp strap and handed it to the leader of the group. It is an essential tool for ghost hunters – especially so they can see where they are running to (not who or what they are running from). My husband and I stayed home to watch the little ones, which is generally okay with us, but I was a little envious as it did sound like it might be a fun night. In part because our kids are a whole lot of fun, and partly because they planned to go to cemeteries where they would look for ancestors’ gravestones, which is always interesting to me.
As their adventurous meandering in cemeteries gained ground, the sun dropped below the horizon, and it became dark. And by dark, I mean, DARK. No streetlights at those old cemeteries in the country. Thanks to the headlight on the leader, (and cell phone flashlights) they could still see enough to get around – I suspect some car headlights may also have been employed.
This is the setup: It was DARK. And there was NO WIND that night, not even a slight breeze. While tiptoeing (or stumbling – remember it was DARK) through one particular graveyard, a movement caught their attention. A flag next to a gravestone was clearly fluttering. But remember, there was NO WIND. The headlight leader crept closer in an effort to figure out what was going on…maybe ghosts are real…! They were getting a little freaked out by the mysteriously waving flag and getting closer wasn’t helping, when suddenly the leader screamed!
A moment of suspense for my readers………...
The headlight leader’s brother had snuck up behind her and with a shout had jumped in front of her, scaring the daylights out of her (at least there had been daylight somewhere…"had" being the key word...and fortunately the headlamp was still intact). The best part? The brother's wife got the audio on her phone. Including the scream from the brave leader. I don’t recall if our daughter-in-love caught everyone’s laughter on the video recording, but we sure laughed after hearing the recording.
So, what does ghost hunting have to do with the perfect gift? Because you know what those kids got for Christmas that year, right? Really nice headlamp gear for next year’s ghost hunting adventures…and the leader’s headlight had a bunch of fancy lights on it for impact…and for hard to see waving flags…and brothers that jump out at you and scare the “bleep” out of you.
Here was our greeting on the leader’s household’s package:
“Merry Christmas, ghost hunters!! Whoever is feeling the bravest (that would be your customary leader unless her brother is part of the ghost hunting crew) gets to wear the Ghost Leader Light. Caution: goblins and chihuahuas are undetectable.” (My husband came up with the caution. 😁)
So, keep your ears and eyes open, because you never know when something (or someone) is going to pop out at you and let you know what that perfect gift could be. Try not to scream…
P.S. When one of our California families had to make an unexpected visit home this winter, they arrived when the sun had already set. Guess what they wore into the house? And they managed to turn off the living room lights when they came in the door, so when we came from the kitchen…... Bright headlamps were all we saw. Still laughing.
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