I was surprised by a summons from the front door this morning. “Yuuubin kyoku desu…” The mailman? Wasn’t expecting anything but I buzzed him in.

He struggled to the door under the weight of an obviously heavy box which bore my mother’s familiar, distinctive handwriting. Oooooo. Our Christmas presents had been lost in transit almost two months ago. I wondered if she had claimed the insurance and sent us replacement holiday cheer.

But no. It was the long-lost Christmas box! Mailed December 6th, delivered January 26th. There is no indication what caused the delay—customs didn’t open it, the box is only beat up in the usual way, it’s correctly addressed, and it has no rubber stamps hinting where it’s been all this time.

I guess we’ll have a bit of Christmas tonight. Thanks, Mom!