What the "Hey" Let's Buy a Tree Too...

I usually buy a tree right after Thanksgiving and have it shedding needles in my living room well into January. Last year we were too broke to buy presents, much less a tree. One day about a week before Christmas I came home from work to find that one of the cook's at work had bought and brought over a tree for us. It was the most beautiful tree we have ever had. Another co worker bought my kid's ihomes and it was a good Christmas

I keep saying I am going to get a tree ...but just never seem to find time. I promised Massey that Saturday we would go get one and let her decorate it.

The last two days have been a blur...let me share some of that "Blur" with you!

Massey turned 15 in mid August and I have been  promising and promising I would take her for her learner's permit.The first time we went they were closed. The second time we went they needed a certificate of attendance from school...that happened to be the first day of Thanksgiving break and school was out for a week.

When school got back in I went by the office to get a certificate of attendance. News to me but they needed a 24 hour notice and a dollar to get it.

Three days later Massey got it and again the DDS was closed. I never knew not getting a learner's permit could make a 15 year old girl cry,  but guess what? It can.

Next time we went, we were prepared...had the certificate of attendance...had the Social Security number...had the birth certificate and even the ten bucks it would cost for my girl to scare me from the driver's seat.

The woman behind the counter who has obviously never taken a customer service course dissed us right off the bat. "This birth certificate won't work. It's not official"

Whadaya  mean?

 Although it is the one they handed me after ripping my body open and grabbing Massey out in under twenty minutes after arriving at the hospital in an ambulance, it seems that it was just a souvenir.  They wanted one with footprints and handprints. For Pete's sake, I felt like taking it back out to the car and drawing some on .

Massey was once again devastated so I asked the unfriendly unhelpful chick behind the counter what to do. I think I used my "Mom is mad face" because her demeanor quickly changed and she became my friend. She told me I had to go to the court house and get an official birth certificate.

So off we went, straight to the court house. Twenty five dollars later I had a copy of the same certificate stating the same facts, except that it had a Notary seal. BIG WHOOP.
 
I was the one who had my guts ripped open and had my baby pulled out of a four inch incision...I think that is something you don't forget...maybe they should have put a Notary seal on my scar that is still numb 15 years later.

We went to the court house and paid 25 dollars for a piece of paper that said "Indeed this baby was pulled out of this woman's body."

Back to the DDS we went. They were more than gracious on this trip and sent her straight to take her test.

Guess that "Mom is ticked" look works everywhere.

She passed and got her permit. I wanted to remind them that this was the same office that gave my boy a permit to drive with the same type birth certificate just last year.

Massey asked me to just hush, so I did.

I checked her into school and went home...dreading the fact that she was now licensed to drive.

I picked her up from school and she had a guard friend that needed a ride home. I dropped off her friend and then Massey wanted to drive home.

It was a gas/brake shaky steering wheel ride home but she did it. Ya gotta start somewhere!

Today we got up and had to go take her Letter to be sewn on her jacket we had ordered. She wanted to drive but it was drizzly and the Saturday before Christmas...Every nut in the world was out.

We  went to pay on her jacket and discovered that there is more than one Santa Claus. Her jacket is almost paid off, thanks to "DeeSanta" and once again  I bowed my head and thanked God that so many people love my family.

We left there and trudged back to Newnan. We wanted a tree and heard that Food Lion had them on sale . We drove up and there were six trees left with a sign that read "$19.00."

We needed dog food anyway so we went inside. When we checked out I told the woman we wanted a tree too.

When the young guy met us outside he asked which one we wanted and I said  "The biggest one."

When I pulled my Passat up his look was like "Wassup, Biotch...this ain't gonna fit."

I told him to just shove it in. I had the back seat laid down and he shoved the tree up to the gear shift. I had Massey give him a $3 tip and off we went.

We drove home like the Clampett's with our trunk open and a tree sticking WAY out the back.

We got home and I had Zach come pull the tree out. I told him it needed some bottom branches trimmed. He went over to Mr. "Slow"ly's house and got a saw.

Zach trimmed about two feet off the bottom of the tree. Now we have an eight foot tree with two feet taken off the bottom for no reason but it is up.

I came home from work and Massey had it decorated. It looks pitiful , Zach hacked it to death, but it is up and decorated and now we have a tree.

It is a tree that means more to me than any other.

It is a tree that reminds me that beauty is in the eye of  the beholder.

I have had blessings on top of blessings. I have had people that know me, people that have never met me and people that just love me take care of me and take care of my family.

What a wonderful blessing to have.

To be loved is a tremendous thing.

It is looking a LOT likeChristmas here at the Cotton's.

I hope that every person has the Christmas I am going to have.

A GREAT ONE!!

From my totally full heart to yours...

MERRY CHRISTMAS....from the bottom of my heart.

COTTON