The Ghost of Christmas Past

What the flock were we thinking? The holidays had barely been laid to rest, just a mere three weeks ago, and already visions of sugar plums began dancing in our next years heads.

I have no money, or at least not money that I need to be spending on fake flocked Christmas trees in the month of January. But what are you going to do when leaving Nordstrom you are besieged by the post holiday prop sale? Right outside of Nordstrom on our innocent walk back to the car, there they were, right on the sidewalk. Christmas trees, garlands, fake reindeer heads, birdhouses, backdrops and LED lit branches. Marked down to just about nothing, they were practically giving them away! Practically.

Panic almost ensued as other women walked by, did a double take, turning their heads in our direction and spilling those words that can bond a woman to a woman faster than Zsa Zsa's husband can bond his eyes together, "Are those things for sale?" Yes, yes! Woman were on their cell phones calling their husbands in for backup. "Bring the pickup honey", we've got trees for days. And husbands obediently showed up and without so much as a question, quietly began lifting and loading the trucks.

Now my sister Pam and I kind of wavered as to whether or not we should make any purchases. Back and forth, really, should we be spending what little cash we had on Christmas trees? Fake Christmas trees in January? Especially since her husband Steve had been working for the past two days cleaning out the garage, packing and stacking Christmas items up in the rafters, and complaining about how much "stuff" they had. Just a week ago he had reminded Pam that she shouldn't be spending, they needed to save up for their summer trip to Germany. But the tinsel and glitter got the better of us. So, I guess we wouldn't be calling Steve to bring down the truck. In fact, if things went according to our soon to be devised plan, we would hopefully get home, he'd be busy watching the 49er game, we'd kill the motor as we pulled into the driveway, almost as quietly unload, place the trees and garlands somewhere in the garage and if he noticed them later, act like they had been there for years! Yes, that will work!

Well, it didn't work. The trees were heavy and as we carried them out of the car they lost much of their flocking and lots of their berries. Our clothing was covered in flocking, the back of the car was covered in flocking, the sidewalk, the carpet, the evidence was everywhere. But luckily he was a good sport. Maybe because the game was on and the 49ers were winning.

Remember the song "1999" by Prince? "Two thousand zero zero party over, whoops, out of time ~ so tonight we're gonna party like it' s 1999" ~

Well, as we all know, the world didn't end, the year 2000 came in with nothing more than a whimper, and we were all still here. And now we have the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world on 12/21/2012. Now we know Prince wasn't right and it is likely that the Mayan's won't be right either. But. . . what if they are? What does that really mean? For one thing it means that we wouldn't have another Christmas to celebrate (party over, whoops, out of time) but we would have the month leading up to it. Twenty one days to be exact. Twenty one days of pure Christmas bliss, lights, candy canes, gift wrap, sugar cookies, and trees! So this will not be a wasted purchase, in fact it is more like a necessary purchase. Bring on the lights, the berries, the LED branches with their little birds and birdhouses ~and if the world doesn't end in 2012, I am definitely getting an unflocked tree in 2013.