The Gift Gnome Saga
Dec. 28th, 2007 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteI've mentioned in here once or twice anonymous packages that have shown up on my porch - since at this point the mystery of the source seems to be an unsolvable one, I figured I ought to at least mention the details for posterity.
Last week I was in a pretty crummy mood for a few days, and I grumbled about it both to a couple of friends in particular and here in my journal. On Saturday, when I came home from running errands, I found a small package on my front porch - it was wrapped in shiny green paper and had my name on it, with no other information. I picked it up and brought it inside, figuring that it was a belated birthday present or a cheer-up package, and that there would be some kind of note or identifier inside.
I was wrong. Inside was a pair of dark green and brown leopard-spotted socks, and absolutely nothing else. No name, no card, no hint as to who had left it there. It was a nice surprise, though, and I was very happy to get it, and I amused myself by wondering who among my friends might have sent it.
The next day, another package appeared. Same place, same wrapping paper, same handwriting on the tag with my name. That one went under the Christmas tree, and was opened on Tuesday - two pairs of socks this time, one white with little stuffed cow heads at the ankle, the second navy blue with a pattern of cows woven into it.
Holiday gifts are a wonderful thing, and I started asking around among my friends. Noone admitted to knowing anything about the gift gnome, though, and I filed it under Holiday Spirit and figured it was a cute story.
Yesterday when I opened the front door to check our mailbox, another package was on the porch. This one.... I don't know quite how to describe the socks that were inside, other than it looks like my gift gnome has now skinned an entire blue and purple-striped muppet and made socks from its hide for me. I love them, and they also happened to come in quite handy last evening when the heat went out for a few hours.
Three hours after I came home, my husband also arrived home from work and called me from the base of the stairs to let me know that *another* package was now on the porch. The gift gnome had, in fact, managed to sneak a present to our front door while I was home, without my noticing. (This one was a pair of kitty-cat socks - wonderful, because my previous favorite pair of kitty-cat socks were lost in the move!)
I had ideas, at first, about who the Gift Gnome might be, but everyone I have asked has sworn innocence. At this point, I am left with three possibilities:
1) the gifts are being left by someone I haven't thought of
2) one of the friends I asked who denied involvement is lying quite skillfully - or -
3) the socks are a peace offering from the pixies, elves, or other small fey folk living in and around our house.
Whichever possibility is the true one, at this point I have decided to stop asking, and just revel in the delight of mystery, surprises, and the fact that my life is just this quirky and cool....
Last week I was in a pretty crummy mood for a few days, and I grumbled about it both to a couple of friends in particular and here in my journal. On Saturday, when I came home from running errands, I found a small package on my front porch - it was wrapped in shiny green paper and had my name on it, with no other information. I picked it up and brought it inside, figuring that it was a belated birthday present or a cheer-up package, and that there would be some kind of note or identifier inside.
I was wrong. Inside was a pair of dark green and brown leopard-spotted socks, and absolutely nothing else. No name, no card, no hint as to who had left it there. It was a nice surprise, though, and I was very happy to get it, and I amused myself by wondering who among my friends might have sent it.
The next day, another package appeared. Same place, same wrapping paper, same handwriting on the tag with my name. That one went under the Christmas tree, and was opened on Tuesday - two pairs of socks this time, one white with little stuffed cow heads at the ankle, the second navy blue with a pattern of cows woven into it.
Holiday gifts are a wonderful thing, and I started asking around among my friends. Noone admitted to knowing anything about the gift gnome, though, and I filed it under Holiday Spirit and figured it was a cute story.
Yesterday when I opened the front door to check our mailbox, another package was on the porch. This one.... I don't know quite how to describe the socks that were inside, other than it looks like my gift gnome has now skinned an entire blue and purple-striped muppet and made socks from its hide for me. I love them, and they also happened to come in quite handy last evening when the heat went out for a few hours.
Three hours after I came home, my husband also arrived home from work and called me from the base of the stairs to let me know that *another* package was now on the porch. The gift gnome had, in fact, managed to sneak a present to our front door while I was home, without my noticing. (This one was a pair of kitty-cat socks - wonderful, because my previous favorite pair of kitty-cat socks were lost in the move!)
I had ideas, at first, about who the Gift Gnome might be, but everyone I have asked has sworn innocence. At this point, I am left with three possibilities:
1) the gifts are being left by someone I haven't thought of
2) one of the friends I asked who denied involvement is lying quite skillfully - or -
3) the socks are a peace offering from the pixies, elves, or other small fey folk living in and around our house.
Whichever possibility is the true one, at this point I have decided to stop asking, and just revel in the delight of mystery, surprises, and the fact that my life is just this quirky and cool....
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Silly Question
Date: 2007-12-28 03:45 pm (UTC)Re: Silly Question
Date: 2007-12-28 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 03:55 pm (UTC)In Law & Order, anyway, the husband is always the first suspect. I assume the same is true here.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:06 pm (UTC)(Hey, if we all claim credit, she'll never know. I would like to have done it. Too bad I have a rock solid alibi--I was several hundred miles away.)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:11 pm (UTC)If you ever lacked for Rabbit Hole Day material, you've got more now.
I like the idea of a pixy shaving his head to knit you some socks, though. A punk pixy with a pet frog, who figures banking some goodwill from the local Special Vet might not be a bad idea at all, and anyway, hair grows back...
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:41 pm (UTC)Mind you, this is the one realm in which there's an explicit agreement that lies are allowed in the relationship - otherwise, arranging cool surprises for each other, or helping others set them up, becomes dreadfully difficult. And I am a passably good liar, when I have a mind to do so. Thus, my word on the matter cannot be entirely trusted.
However, I should note that I have a modicum of wisdom. While a fib can preserve a surprise, or enhance a little tension for a while, lies are a poor basis for long-term happiness. If I were the gift gnome, and the Lady were to ever find this out, the reveal would be a major let-down. It would be like finding out your high-school secret admirer was really a hoax. It would ruin any positive affect the gnomishness would have had, and that's no fun for anyone.
Ergo, I am not the gift gnome, merely because I want the greatest possible happiness for my wife, and my being the gift gnome would not generate that. The greatest possible fun would come from someone else deciding to be a gift gnome with no prodding from me at all - and I'm happy to say that's the case.
I can proclaim that I don't know who the gift gnome is, but given my statements above, I cannot be trusted to be telling the truth on the matter. If I had decent reason to think concealing the gift gnome's identity would be more fun for her, I would lie like a rug.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 05:35 pm (UTC)This, to me, seem the most likely answer. I think it is their way of 'paying' for your care and concern for their pets.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-28 06:33 pm (UTC)I can't claim Gnome-ness, though I'd suspect me. Duuuudddeeee socks!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-29 08:26 am (UTC)