An Open Letter

Dear Advent Swap Partner,

I'm not calling you by name: You know who you are. And I'm not into public humiliation.

I don't have any reason to think that you'll read this; you've never given me any indication that you've looked at my blog at all, much less left a comment. It's kind of a last hope effort to communicate with you.

I wish I knew what happened. That's what it boils down to.

Back in August when we signed up for the Advent Swap, we agreed to

. . . Send a weekly email to each other
. . . Update our blogs at least once each week
. . . Make a Christmas gift for each other
. . . Send the Christmas gift and twenty-four other small gifties to each other by a certain date
. . . Notify each other when the parcel is received
. . . Open one gift each day in Advent
. . . Become friends (optional)

It sounded like fun.

I received a couple of emails from you early on. So far, so good.

And then they stopped. I continued to write for a while and eventually gave up. Your blog was never updated. I made you a table runner from William Morris fabrics for your main gift; I made some other small things and shopped for additional things. I sent you a parcel by the mailing date.

But you never wrote that you received it. You haven't emailed me in months. And I've not received a parcel from you. And now, when I write to try to confirm that you did, in fact, receive my parcel, the emails bounce back.

I wish I knew what happened. There are many possible scenarios. In about half of them, you aren't a very nice person. But the other half are worse: Perhaps you were struck by some horrible tragedy. I've no idea. As a Lutheran I've been taught to ascribe the kindest explanation possible for my neighbor's transgressions. Doing that in this case is complicated and unsettling; it is kinder, I think, to believe you've been the victim of some serious misfortune that has prevented you from contacting me in any way. But that is sad, and I guess I'd really rather go with the "not a very nice person" option, but at the beginning, you seemed so very nice, like someone I was eager to get to know better and to wish lived Not So Far From Philadelphia.

If something happened that made you unable to honor your commitment to the swap, that is understandable. Life gets in the way. I just wish you would tell me that. And that you received my package.

Okay. Now I've said what I need to say. I'm going to try to let go of you now. Be well.

And God bless.