Secret Santa Service

How had I managed to let the gutters go so long without cleaning them?

Two days before Christmas they were clogged with leaves. Looks like Bev’s in the same boat, I thought, glancing at my neighbor’s house. Bev had an excuse.

She was a single mom supporting a family on a teacher’s salary. Even the small amount of money it would cost to have someone clean her gutters would be hard to come by. Especially this time of year.

Well, it had to get done—for both of us—before a big rain caused seepage into our houses. I put cleaning my gutters on my to-do list.

An hour later a man knocked on the door looking for odd jobs. “I need some extra cash to get my family through the holidays,” he said. “No job’s too small.”

“You’re an early Christmas gift!” I said. I walked outside and showed him the gutters.

Before long I had clean gutters, and he had some spending money. That gave me an idea.

“My neighbor’s gutters need cleaning too,” I said, paying him for both jobs like a secret Santa.

I thought I’d let the gutters go too long. Turns out I was right on time for Christmas.