The Nutcracker

I received a wooden soldier Nutcracker doll as a gift when I was a child.

We aren't sure, but we think it came from Germany, and it was probably given to me by my God parents.

It came out every year as part of the holiday decorations at Christmas time. 

It's been in my family home for over 50 years, so its white rabbit fur hair is yellow, and stinks like an ash tray.

How do I know this?  My brother shipped it to me for Christmas!!

But here's the back story:

He shipped it, as a surprise for me, far enough before the holiday that it was to be delivered to our house on Yule (Dec. 21st) while we were off work.

Nothing was delivered to our house that day.  We were home almost all day.

My brother had mentioned that something was coming, but he didn't say what, or when it was expected. 

He waited a few days after it was supposed to come, and then he called me.

His tracking information said it was delivered, so we surmised that it had been stolen off of our porch.  Those things happen a lot around here, so it was entirely possible.  This is why we always have anything that we order delivered to us at work.

We supposed that a "porch pirate" had taken it, found it to be a worthless old piece of junk, and threw it into a dumpster somewhere.

Cole opened an investigation with UPS, and I called in a misdemeanor police report. 

Surprisingly, we found one just like it on ebay, and posted a picture on Facebook, just in case any of our local friends would come across it in a thrift store or something.

We waited, and nothing seemed to come of any of it, pretty much just as we expected.

Until last week. 

I got a call from the local UPS office, asking if the package had ever arrived.  I told them no.  They apologized.  They asked where I had ordered the item from.

I paused, and said "it was a childhood treasure of mine, shipped by my brother."

It seemed odd that she didn't know that already.

Anyway, then she confirmed that their tracking information showed that the package was delivered on Dec. 21 to 2533.

I said "My address is 2532." 

She said "I beg your pardon?"   Yes, the package was addressed to 2533. 

Across the street.  (The house where the man had once screamed and swore at me for parking in the street in front of his house, because we had workmen in our driveway with their truck and tools. GREAT!)

The rep from UPS suggested that I tell my brother my correct address for future reference, and we hung up.

REALLY??????  Jeez!

I had to leave for dance class, the guy wasn't home across the street, so I messaged my brother with the news. 

The next evening, Dave went to the house across the street, and Terry, the neighbor, had the box! 

He seemed very nice, which was a HUGE surprise, given our only other encounter with him from five or six years ago.

Dave came back across the street with a big box, and I burst into tears!

Sure enough, the label said 2533!  My brother went back to his UPS office in Illinois, and got a refund for their mistake!

Happy ending!!

Oh, and that one we posted on Facebook?  My brother bought it.  He was going to send it to me.  Now there is a Nutcracker in the house, just like there always has been.