This morning, I went out to check the mail. Normally that job falls to someone else in my household but today, for some reason, I felt that I should. It just so happened that today was the day a small envelope addressed to my username arrived in the mailbox. Inside was a $25 card for Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/), an organization that lets users loan money to people (generally in impoverished countries) who are in the process of starting or growing their businesses. I don't know my Santa's username - she signed the card with "Caroline". So, Caroline, if you're reading this - please make sure to read all the way to the end!

This is pretty embarrassing to write, but my first thought was, "This is it?" After seeing so many pictures and posts of the oodles of presents people had received, I was somewhat taken aback. This didn't even look like a present. Something seemed very wrong with what had just crossed my mind, so I took another look at the card.

Sometimes a second look really can make all the difference. I stopped and realized that the gift my Secret Santa had given was something absolutely fantastic and, in fact, one of the best gifts of all. I was pretty shocked at how subconsciously caught up in materialism I had become. The envelope was a wake-up call, and a much needed reminder of what the ACTUAL purpose of the holidays is. Check the front page of the Secret Santa gift exchange, and you'll see that the whole point of the exchange is to "do something nice for [others]"! Caroline's choice of gift meant that she hadn't just done something nice for me - she had given me the chance to pass on that kindness to other people. Instead of getting something that would only benefit me, I got something that would benefit hundreds of others. In that moment, my gift transformed into something better than any material item.

For the past half hour I've been browsing the Kiva website, looking for the perfect place to make a loan to. I don't know yet which opportunity I'll pick. I do know that whichever business the money ends up going to, the change in someone's life it makes will be all due to Caroline.

TL;DR - Thank you, Caroline, for the best Secret Santa gift ever.