What can go wrong, will go wrong…….sometimes I feel that way, especially recently. Do you ever feel like things are going bad and you don’t see any end in sight? My wife was sick with a bad cold last week and then on Saturday our family doctor diagnosed her with walking pneumonia. Yikes! She is doing much better and I have been doing the whole “Mr. Mom” thing, which I have been enjoying and has given me an entirely new appreciation for what my wife does on a daily basis.
Then last night it happened. The straw that broke the camel’s back, the coup de grâce of Holiday nightmares. My wife and I were awoken by a loud “SWHOOOOOOOSH”, I glance at the clock, it reads 2 a.m.. My wife says the 2 words that NO husband wants to hear in December, especially at 2 a.m., “The TREE!” As I enter the living room and stumble to find the light switch, my worst yule tide fear has come true, the Christmas tree is on the ground! This is no ordinary tree, mind you, this White Fir stands 12 feet tall and would make Paul Bunyan proud! Bits and pieces of glass ornaments were strewn everywhere and lights were in a tangled mess. Water from the base had soaked the carpet and needless to say, tree needles were, well, everywhere. I quickly unplug the power strip so we don’t become crispy critters and we begin the clean-up and were back in bed by 3am. We did not want to leave the glass on the floor in fear of one of the kiddos tromping through it this morning before we woke.
Believe it or not, this has actually been a blessing in disguise and has made me stop and ponder what really matters this time of year. And glass ornaments are not on this list! Here is what I am most thankful for:
- My family is healthy. Err…almost, my wife is on the road to recovery.
- We will have presents under the tree for everyone and did NOT have to accumualte credit card debt to do it.
- My immediate family will all be together Christmas morning.
- My 6 year old son understood why we were buying presents for children that otherwise might not have gifts on Christmas morning.
- Christmas trees and ornaments will come and go, but memories created this time of year will last a lifetime. I was pretty ticked off at 2am last night, but my wife and I have already shared a couple laughs about it today. Memory created the hard way!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
10 responses so far ↓
I’m glad you’re all ok and there was no major crisis! It’s surprising how the suckier parts of life make you appreciate the good ones more. I wish we were better at appreciating the good in life before crisis strikes. Or 12-foot trees…
Ooooh no! I’m so sorry this happened. I’m glad everyone is OK, but that is just so frustrating.
*hugs*
Thanks MM and Jennifer, it was kind of ugly in the moment last night. My wife was in tears, I think for her it was a culmination of not wanting to be sick and being unable to do the things she wanted to do and then the TREE just was the final straw!
Yikes! I’m glad your wife is on the mend. And I’m sorry about the tree. I don’t think I would handle that too well at 2 am either. Glad you can laugh about it now.
Great post, Kyle. Sorry you had such troubles, but you’ve got a great outlook on the things that do truly matter. (And I’m the same way. I’d be cursing up a storm at 2 a.m…. but sleep and time helps put things in perspective.)
Hope your wife feels better soon!
Glass ornaments- how I miss those. I stocked up on plastic (but glass looking) ornament balls on clearance at Dollar General last year. Someday- those vintage glass balls will make a come back.
Way to go on counting those blessings.
Sorry to hear about the string of bad luck, but at least you’ve got some perspective. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks guys, things are only getting better here as my wife is almost back to normal. Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas, Kyle!
Thanks so much for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life hosted at Pajama Mommy Community! Be sure to drop by and check out some of the other wonderful entries this week!