Went in for a tree, came out with the reason

Took the kiddos to get a Christmas tree today. Taking 2 kids 2 and under into any store is a challenge. The 2 year old can't be trusted, so he's still in the cart. The little one, well he can't walk, so he's in the cart as well. As I've mentioned in the past, I have this completely unrealistic Norman Rockwell image in my head of how the grandiose "tree selection" will actually go down. Needless to say, my images of Christmas may have to wait until 2011.

What I ended up leaving Lowe's with was much greater and more perfect than any tree they had for sale. You see, it's easy to lose track of what is important this time of year. You would think that it would be so obvious why we put up a tree, buy gifts for one another, spend time with our loved ones. But we fail to keep our eyes on the prize. We panic about sales, deals and bargains.

Walking down the tinsel aisle, with my boys holding a snow globe, garland and an inflatable (yes, I broke down and got him one) I passed 3 little girls with their grandmother. One little girl said "grandma? Why is it going to be a small Christmas?" and the grandmother kindly looked at her granddaughters and responded "honey, your daddy has been out of work for quite some time, so it's just not going to be the same this year."

When shopping for your families, please don't forget the little girl who's father has been without work. Don't forget her siblings. Pick up an angel from the Salvation Army angel tree. Throw your spare change in the bucket on your way into the grocery store. What may be minuscule to you may mean the world someone else.

So we went in for a tree and came out with a profound and overwhelming sense of the blessings that we have been given. I know that I have been reminded of what is truly important this season.

My cup runneth over.



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