We brought in the mail yesterday, and there was a mysterious envelope from England, addressed to me, in the mailbox.  The customs declaration read “postcards and plastic toy,” and since I only know a couple of people who would mail me something from England, I was pretty curious to see what was inside.

Parachute guy.

As I’m sure you can imagine, there’s a back story to parachute guy.

Every summer, I work in the office at the day camp where my kids go.  I’m lucky to work with fun, smart people who make my job easier and my summers something to  look forward to.

I’m not really sure where Parachute Guy came from, but two summers ago I saw him on the desk of the office manager (and my good friend). He’s a smiling little red plastic figurine, not even an inch tall, attached by fishing line to a white parachute, If I am correctly remembering how things started, I took him off her desk and hung him by the parachute from the ceiling in her office.  And so it began.

Every few days, my friend and I would trade Parachute Guy.  I’d find him in my purse, in a desk drawer, hanging on my computer, under a pile of papers. And I’d return the favor, stashing him in places in her office.

After two summers, things started to get a little stale with Parachute Guy, so we upped the game a little.  If there was mail coming home to me from camp during the year when I’m not working there, I might find him in the envelope.  Once, my friend’s kids came over to spend time with my kids, and her daughter snuck up to my room and hid Parachute Guy under my pillow.

So, neither of us spent much time wondering where Parachute Guy might be, but for me, finding him always makes me smile.  And this past summer, at the end of camp, my friend sent Parachute Guy off to England with one of the international camp staff, for her to mail to me at a later date.

And here’s where the story is now.  Parachute Guy arrived here safely yesterday, and is spending time in my kitchen.  I’m not at all sure when and how Parachute Guy will be returned to my friend, but now I feel the need to do something pretty creative.

Here’s the moral of the story: life is full of work, laundry, homework, cleaning – the “have-tos.”  And if in the midst of these have-tos, if we can make someone smile by doing something silly like hiding a little toy in a jacket pocket, we’ve done our “real” job.