Let me begin by saying that I am extremely grateful for partaking in the Reddit Secret Santa. I am relatively new to Reddit overall and only joined the community thanks to the app /u/alienblue. Signing up for the exchange was a late minute thing.

Boy, am I glad I did.

December 21: IT ARRIVED!

I did not open the package. I like to take the moment to cherish things and waiting helps build anticipation and in turn I think it helps cherish moments like this.

December 22: Ugh. My car was broken into.

This does not directly pertain to the exchange, but I need to share it. I was out doing grocery shopping for our holiday dinner. I did not even notice anything. Got into the car. Started it. The interior lights shut off, all except the rear dome light. That is when it hit me. Someone broke into the car though the back door and left the dome light on.

They stole a bunch of shopping bags from the backseat of my car. I figure as much as they could carry in a quick hurry, I had a lot of bags back there.

There was a police officer parked outside the garden center with his car idling. I would like to think that maybe instead of sitting there and actively patrolling the lots that maybe this would not have happened. Alas, it did.

The good news? The shoppings bags that I left in my backseat? They were all reusable shopping bags … filled with reusable shopping bags. (Like a yo dawg meme.) I had them in the backseat of my car because I recently purchased a small tree so that we could have a tree in our home this year. So, while it was a misfortune, it could have been so much worse. I was thankful.

I am typically in the habit of checking my receipt, but because of the obvious commotion, I did not this time around. I was double charged for the frozen turkey breast I picked up for our Christmas Dinner. It was only $15, but it means a lot to my family as of late. I had to return to the store to get approval for the return credit. Got it, minor inconvenience.

On my way to retrieve the final bag, I stepped off the front step of the house and landed straight on my back. I laid there crying in pain, but aggravated by all that had happened, this grown man just completely lost it. The aggravations just piled up. Luckily I was at my mother’s home and she was there to hear me cause having thrown out my back, I could not even get up without assistance.

December 23: Spent day in bed.

Contemplating whether or not this incident required a trip to the Emergency Room. I was involved in an accident recently in July and requiring surgery, without insurance, I was not keen on returning to an E.R. seeing that I am still far from paying off the bills I incurred. I ended up not going, just doubled up on ibuprofen.

December 24: Wigilia

Being a Polish American, this is the our key day of observance in the holiday. Also the day we open our gifts!

Things will be good.

I get to my room. There is a $100 bill on the floor, next to my bed. My heart sank. I was out of my room for minutes ...

I have been saving up for a fence for my mom’s backyard. She has two dogs and both have been attacked by coyotes. So it is something I would like to do so that she does not have to walk out with the dogs. Mom is not getting any younger and the coyotes are getting bolder and bolder.

I had $2,500 put away.

Without getting too personal, a family member battles with addiction and lives at home. $600 was missing.

Again, it was hard not to get emotional given the circumstances.

You know how I said that I was involved in an accident recently? While I was hospitalized, the same family member ran up charges on my credit card. I reported the fraud, thinking it was someone at the hospital. But no, was family member that was buying gift cards at the super market and gas station.

Mom had to confront the family member and forced herself to search everything. Along side a bag full of drugs, she found $300 and change. That's where my hard earned money went, but trying to look at the bright side of things, I got that much back. Thing I even got a sorry? No.

Anyway … I was done.

Did not even care to open gifts. All I had was a gift for mom and vice versa, but again, I was done.

Fence fund was no longer a secret. It was just a big deflation.

December 25: Christmas Day

Woke up thinking, what have I done to deserve the rash of bad luck? Not recent, but over the course of the year. I was so down.

Meanwhile, the gift from a complete stranger was staring me in the face from across the room.

A week prior I took the time to pick out a gift for my giftee. That is what this season is about: giving.

And here, while I am contemplating why the bad? Look at the good. There was another stranger out there that took the time for ME. Took the time to talk to me, learn about me, and buy a thoughtful gift FOR ME.

And I am sharing all of this because I cannot thank you enough, Brittany. Hate to get so long winded and so personal, but it is because of you that Christmas was made this year.

One of the quirks I have is that I like to quote. Whether it is songs, sayings, or things from popular culture. Brittany acknowledged my taste in books/shows and asked questions based off of them.

And it made for an awesome paring of gifts. She got a vinyl figure of my favorite Thrones character and a book of quotes from another one of my favorite Thrones character. I anonymous emails! And what made it even more perfect? I was honest to goodness going to buy the book for myself last week at Barnes & Noble, but decided against it because I could not justify the cost for a personal purchase. Because it is perfect for me, because like I said, it is one of my quirks.

So, Brittany. You, a complete stranger, were able to get a gift so perfect I am certain I could call you a friend. I can confidently say that you figured me out more in a mere conversation than the majority of my friends ever could have over the years. And for that, I thank you. You and this exchange will forever hold a place in my heart. You bet I will be back for 2014.

Hope your Christmas was a good one and that your Santa was as kind as you were to me. May 2014 bring all the good things that you deserve.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Your giftee, mkob1 :)

TL;DR: Bad luck plagued me. Secret Santa redeemed Christmas. Brittany is awesome.