Gift Receipt

In the cold dark hours of the morning, as I dragged my recycling bin to the curb, I had a chance encounter with my newspaper carrier. It always seems odd to me watching adults deliver the paper. Not that there is anything wrong with it… but having been a ten-year-old paper-boy growing up, I still can’t shake the paradigm that the paper should be delivered by the neighbourhood kid.

Every once in a while, my departure time coincides with the delivery of one of our early morning newspapers. Usually my interaction with the delivery person is a nodded confirmation that the rag should be left on my porch, followed by a mumbled thank-you for his services.

This recent morning wasn’t much longer, but gratifyingly much more meaningful, all because of a single sentence uttered by my trusty town crier. It was all in the quick moment he took to thank me for his Christmas bonus.

Thank-you is an underused and invaluable phrase. Continue reading “Gift Receipt”