An Unintentional Christmas Present

When our youngest son called on Christmas morning, he asked what Denny and I had bought each other as gifts. I told him that we hadn't bought specific gifts because we tend to buy things we need like new golf bags/shoes/shirts and call them "anniversary" presents or "birthday" presents no matter when they are purchased. And then we throw/give away something old.

I always find something to buy at the Mesa Market Place (swap meet/flea market) and this year was no exception; I purchased a lovely hand blown art glass solar powered mushroom yard decoration. I called it my birthday present and figured that would work for Christmas also (after all the two are only four days apart.)

But then we moved from our campground in Gold Canyon, Arizona to a county park campground in Mesa and that's when Denny and I discovered we had given ourselves a Christmas gift after all; a beautiful desert setting where we were serenaded by birds in the daytime and coyotes at night. During our week long stay here the two of us have run errands, visited with friends, done some sightseeing on back roads and hit the flea market again where we bought a new pair of binoculars (20 x 70 power) which we have used to pick out distant hikers on the mountainside, followed jet contrails in the sky and watched birds in flight and lizards scrabbling on the desert floor. We have breathed deeply and relaxed completely and that in itself has been a gift.

So Darb, for Christmas we gave each other a campground. And since we've enjoyed ourselves here so much, for Valentine's Day we're giving it to each other again.