Just An Inconspicuous Old Box

That's right! It was just a big old inconspicuous box, in the basement covered with blankets and things. Only a curious boy would be snooping around to see if it held any treasures. Sure enough, my brother, Jim, looked inside to see what it may hold. For most of the week he'd had his detective hat on, along with his hound dog nose, sniffing around for a sign of Christmas gifts. Lo, and behold, the box was full of wrapped gifts.

He didn't stop there. Sharing with his sisters was the next step. Then taking the gifts out, shaking each one and oh, so carefully undoing the tape. Peeking inside to see what or who the gift was for came next. This man of stealth wasn't stopping at finding the jackpot, he wanted a piece of the action.

All this took place when our mother was gone, of course. He looked forward with anticipation for Christmas. This taught me a smart thing that my mom did. She prepared ahead of time for Christmas by wrapping and stashing our Christmas. I did the same thing years later, trying to find the 'Best hiding place ever'.

Christmases have come and gone, but I still remember the secret we stumbled upon that year we found the inconspicuous old box.