Back in
October or November… I was looking at Christmas decorations in Menards via my
scooter… and I saw the most charming
Christmas Tree I had ever seen in my entire life. It was a 3ft flocked tree
with multi-colored lights that shimmered. I instantly fell in love. The best
part was it’s price. It was $24.99. But for a limited time only… it was on sale
for $19.99. I snapped it up right away… knowing I had the perfect spot to put
it. I couldn’t wait to get home. When I did… I ripped open the box, rustling
the branches into shape and setting it up on my long dresser top. It was
beautiful. Made my day. And it was going to make the holidays sweeter. I just
adored this tree. It conjured up good thoughts and great feelings. Over the
next couple months… I would turn off the lights, light the tree and turn on the
old fashioned radio, I had in the bedroom… blasting Christmas music. It was
wonderful. I would lay there thinking about Christmas past and the ones to come
in the future. We have been through some difficult times this year and though
things haven’t improved and instead have seemingly gotten worse… this little
tree, gave me a spark of hope. It brought sheer JOY to me and I felt lucky to
be alive. I realize giving all these kudos to an inanimate object probably
sounds crazy, but the truth is… it really did make a significant difference in
my daily life. Unfortunately the feelings didn’t last. The little tree suddenly
stopped lighting. It was dead in the water. I was devastated. My hubby checked
the fuses. And checked the wires. Took
out each individual light (which was a tiresome chore) to make sure they were
making the proper connection. And further to assess if a bulb might be burned
out. They were firmly in the sockets and no burnouts. The outlet it was plugged
into was working… so the problem seemed to be coming from the tree. So what to
do? I called the store where I bought it… asking if I could return the tree and
exchange it for a new one. They said I needed a receipt… which had long since
been tossed away. So I wouldn’t be able to get credit back to replace the tree…
but I could still buy a new one, out the cash I originally paid. Well, that
sounded ok in theory, but the trouble was that particular tree was sold out.
They offered to sell me the floor model… but the truth is… those trees on
display… are on 24/7 and I was worried it too would fail. So I was left with no
3ft flocked multi-colored Christmas Tree for the upcoming holiday. It hit me
hard. I frantically searched online for another one, from any source. They were all cost prohibitive, and mostly
had clear lights. I had to accept my idyllic Christmas dream was now shattered.
In the big scheme of things I knew I needed to let it go. Things happen. But
the truth is... little things mean a lot, and this little tree meant the world to
me. Especially in light of all the problems that have been compounding my life,
health wise. So… I now have to move forward… wrapping the last gifts to be
boxed and shipped… without the same enthusiasm I had. Christmas will still come
and go. And I’ll get through the holidays one way or another. But things won’t
be the same without that little flocked tree. I’m afraid my disappointment will
overshadow the main event and make this Christmas… one I will remember for the WRONG reason. Have you ever had something ruin your holiday?
PS) We'll be driving 40 to 60 miles away today... to try to find the same liittle tree, in stock at another Menards. Wish me luck. The computer says they're there. Fingers crossed they are and I can bring one home.
