Yesterday was not a great day. It wasn’t horrible or tragic but disheartening. I went down to the laundry room in the basement, put in my load of clothes, turned the washer on and realized the sewer must have backed up. Must have flooded after I did a load of clothes the day before. (When the ground freezes it sometimes causes the sewer line to clog between the house and the street when it’s cold.) Our home was built in 1972. The city decided to plant trees in front of every house in the subdivision for beautification purposes. Unfortunately the roots have caused problems all over the neighborhood as they invade the old pipes. Since they are city trees, we can not, under any circumstance, touch those trees. We can’t prune or remove them. So we have to get the drain snaked once a year but this year we waited too long, the cold weather came early. Anyway, while I was cleaning up the mess after the plumber left, I did what I always do when housework is tedious, I meditate–sort of. It’s probably more accurate to say my mind wanders. I’ve convinced myself “meditation” makes the work go faster and it is imperative when cleaning up sewerage overflow to go as fast as possible.
So there I was, pants rolled up, latex gloves pulled up as far as they could go, armed only with one very small jug that needed refilling over and over and over again. I tried to flush leftover gunk down the floor drain. This was after I picked up the other grosser gunk by hand. 🤢 Needless to say, my mind wandered. (I just wish my nose could have had somewhere else to be.) I was stressed because I had a lot to do; finish the laundry, vacuum, decorate for the holiday and breakfast for me (which I never had). I was thinking about the Christmas decorations and which ones I might use this year. I decided against using the quarter moon Santa head. We used it last year and I decided to change it up. As I continued flushing, I remembered how we got the Santa moon.
Almost every year we go to a Christmas store called St. Nick’s, appropriately. It’s open year ‘round. If you need Christmas decorations at any time; any size tree, any type ornament, stockings, hats, tree skirts, or more lighting options than you could ever imagine this should be your one stop shop.
About ten years ago, we took our yearly trip to the store. It’s a trip because it is on the other side of town and takes about 50 minutes to get there from our house. We usually make a day of it, lunch included. This particular trip the Santa pictured was on display in the lighting department. One look and I really, really loved this Santa light. It’s pretty big, a little short of three feet from pom-pom to beard tip. I knew just how we could use it. My husband, Mo, asked if they had another one. He was told that was it. Mo then asked if they’d sell that one, as is. Again, the answer was no. I was so disappointed and Mo was disappointed for me. My husband, being the incredibly friendly guy he is, struck up a conversation with the clerk as we paid for our purchases. They talked about Christmas and how in sixth grade he, Mo, memorized “The Night Before Christmas” just because he really liked the poem. The clerk asked if he still remembered it. (You have to understand this was, what, forty + years later?!) He then presented this challenge to Mo; if he could still recited the poem, he’d sell us that Santa moon at a 25% discount. So in the middle of the store’s lighting department, with maybe fifty customers looking on, my husband recited “T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” People stopped what they were doing to watch and listen and smile. When he finished, with nary one mistake, a round of spontaneous applause and laughter broke out.
The clerk kept his promise, the Santa moon head came down off display. Then to smiles and pats on the back and calls of congratulations, the Santa moon head was packed up and sent home with us. I was so proud and a little amazed. I memorized the poem as well but couldn’t remember most of it. That he would do that so I wouldn’t be disappointed showed me how much he loves me and I love him right back for this and so many other wonderful things. I will never let this Santa go and maybe I should reconsider my decision to keep it in the box this year❣️What do you think?
Soosey’s Ruminations 