Gather ’round, while I regale you with the tale of my own Christmas miracle.

Except I can’t go into too many details, since certain offspring of mine are known to look in on this site. Suffice to say that now I know why I wait until the frickin’ last minute to do my shopping… the emotional high when you find a coveted item purely by accident, after making 25 phone calls all over southern Wisconsin and have resigned yourself to wrapping a picture of the elusive object, is addicting.

Oh yes. You see, I decided to pick up a gift certficate after lunch and discovered that one of the longed-for item had arrived in the morning’s shipment. The people right before me almost bought it, but decided on something else… so it was mine mine mine.

I had to hold back from leaping over the counter and hugging the shaggy-haired clerk as I triumphantly handed over my credit card. My exhuberance must have shown, though, because he kept saying, “I’m really happy for you, m’am.”

And the heavens parted, and there was much rejoicing.