Tis the Season?

There are Christmas decorations in the stores already. Not that this is something new to me, but every year it bugs me more and more. How can we appreciate the true magic of Christmas when it is shoved down our throats before September is even over? By the time Christmas comes around, I have to try really hard to enjoy the Christmas songs that I have been hearing for months. What is wrong with waiting until Thanksgiving is over? Or even waiting until October is over? Let's start a revolt!

The Conspiracy

On Saturday, I went to Walmart to buy a few items--laundry soap, shower soap, dish soap, dryers sheets, and Spray and Wash. I looked at a few other items, wandered aimlessly and went to the check out stand proud that I had in my basket only the items that were on my list. The check out girl commented on the laundry soap--" I love that Scent; Apple Mango Tango. Did you know they have dryer sheets with the same scent?" I paid for my purchase, gathered my bags and headed home.

The next morning, I started the laundry and noticed that the laundry soap was not there. I only had enough of the old box to do a few loads, but had 5 loads waiting. I looked in my trunk-- no Apple Mango Tango there. I had left it at the store. At this point I wonder if I should go back to Walmart to retrieve it. I had the receipt, but would they believe that I had left it? Would they replace it? Is the $5 dollar price of the laundry soap worth the time it will take to go down there? I decided it wasn't. But, I swear Walmart has a conspiracy. In making the customer responsible to retrieve their bags and get them to the cart, they probably have a lot of forgotten items. Is this how they keep costs down? How many people go back to get the items? How many even notice that they were forgotten?

My solution to the piles of laundry and no soap? Send Dave to Smith's to buy more and bribe him with Diet Pepsi. Hey, whatever works.

But, YOU don't pay me

Dave accepted an offer to work in a youth treatment facility located in Parowan (20 mins north of us) this week. Dave was called in on Monday for an interview and the guy hired him on the spot. He will be working with troubled teens, something he has done before and really enjoyed. His shift is 7 am to 3 pm Mon-Friday, so he will be home just in time to start dinner every night. The other good news is that he has weekends, off---or so we thought.

When he put in his notice at the lodge, his fellow employees were sad but supportive, knowing that Dave has a family to support and needs a full time job. Dave has loved working at the lodge, the hustle and bustle of a real restaurant kitchen was exciting and comforting. He was proud that he had made such an impression on the other cooks and his supervisors, considering he had no professional experience. That night, he came home and told me about how everyone was sad that he was quitting. We talked about the possibility of him staying on part time, but it just was not going to fit into his schedule.


The next day, the lodge offered a weekend shift. Dave can come in at 2 and work until 5 or six on Saturdays and Sundays. It will just be one day for now, until ski season picks up. Dave came home boasting about how much they all love him. Worried about how much time we would have together, I said "I love you too, ya know." He just smiled and said with a wink and a chuckle, "But, you don't pay me!" '

Touche.

After realizing that he would be home every night, and that we really could use the money, we agreed to accept the weekend offer. Dave told me after the discussion that he had already told them he would do it, the stinker!


P.S. Dave was more than happy to part ways with his security job, but that is a story for another time..............