Plastic Mistletoe Makes Me Happy

Sometime in October I had my annual realization that I did not have any mistletoe for Christmas time. YIKES!! My Mother always hung a ball of cheap plastic mistletoe at Christmas time and I've NEVER continued that tradition, much to my dismay. No big deal, but this year I was DETERMINED to remember to pick up some mistletoe.

Now that should be simple.....but it wasn't. I've been everywhere, I've scoured and hunted. I've looked for some almost every single time I'm out shopping. We've made special stops in stores we NEVER go in. Everyone has holly. Bah. I don't want holly. We found stuff that we could pretend was mistletoe....the berries were white!

It got so bad that my two oldest daughters secretly gathered materials and made me paper mistletoe! So freakin' amazing and is now my prized mistletoe.

We were going to purchase a festive sign at Home Sense that said "warning: entering mistletoe area"....but alas we HAD NO FREAKIN" MISTLETOE!!!

As you know we just spent a few days in Winnipeg. It was an amazing trip that we loved. Such a special time with his family. Some of the nicest people ever. However it was the most emotionally exhausting trip I've ever taken. Being with the beloved matriarch of this very large family while she enjoys her last days is a gift and it's wonderful....wonderfully exhausting.

So we're making the trek home all in one day. Three children, two exhausted parents, coffee, a portable DVD and other luxuries....barreling westward.....no breaks. It's ok because our Magnum is perfection. Well....it *was* perfection....until we hit that thing in the road and there was that loud sharp sound of impact....followed by really odd whistling sounds. Plastic cover that protects the oil pan....shattered. He removed it just off the side of the highway, actually, we ended up in the driveway of a local farmhouse....long story. Anyway, He removed it in -26 (not factoring windchill) and we headed to Swift Current. Stopped at the Canadian Tire to replace his PIECE OF SHIT socket set that infuriates both of us but we never remember to replace it!! They have a 428 piece socket and tool set that is $143.00....it's pretty decent. We like it, we buy it because it is on sale right now for $39.99! Bliss.

Then I see the clearance Christmas stuff. After 3 months of non-stop searching I find EXACTLY the mistletoe I want...in a lonely, mostly dismantled, practically barren, fourth aisle of clearance decorations. There it is, no tag, no price, ONLY ONE THERE, with a piece of masking tape with a code penned on it. I almost cried. $1.29.

If you want to be happy you focus on the good. We were exhausted, the girls were waging WWIII between them, our car (my baby) was damaged, we were hungry, delayed in getting home, faced with our own foolishness in not replacing the socket set and yet there we were. Swift Current, Canadian Tire, one hour before closing on a Sunday, hugging and laughing in a clearance aisle, with our steal of a deal socket set and my mistletoe. We are blessed. We are thankful.


P.S. About 6 days before leaving for Winnipeg BFF and I were at Home Sense. The mistletoe sign was on clearance for $2....I bought it.....because I had a feeling.