Lightbulb Moment

The ex called me the other night, wanting to know if I had any extra Christmas tree lights. They hadn't taken any when they left, you see, so they didn't have any.

As I didn't put up the GIANT tree we had when we were together (nearly nine feet tall) and festoon it with the nearly 2000 lights we normally do, I had plenty of lights left over. So I told him to come over and take them. I'll be downsizing so I really don't want to be storing things that I won't be using.

Then I realized the time -nearly 9pm - and I asked him "You're putting up the tree now?" My answer was a tired "Yes." I figured i'd ask more when he got here.

Turns out that they (he and the gf and another friend) had decided that tonight was the night to put up the tree. He had asked that the two of them get the decorations up from the basement so things would be ready to go. Well...that didn't happen. Then they had dinner and then clean up and then it was the thing that made me insane when the gf lived with us:

She said "I guess we don't have time to do the tree now...*siiiiiiiiigh*" (or something to that affect)

So, on a weeknight when he had an 8am meeting the next day, he ended up hauling all the decorations up, dealing with the gf freaking out because she didn't think she had all her ornaments, as well as freaking out that they didn't have any lights. And dealing with the friend trying to make things better for the gf but just eliciting snappy responses from her. AND dealing with driving across town to get the lights from me and double check in the garage to make sure they didn't leave any of her ornaments.

He looked harried and tired when he arrived. He told me the whole tale of the tree decorating. He looked for the ornaments (which weren't there, as we both knew). He helped me put some things back together in the garage from taking down my own decorations. Then he left, still looking harried and exhausted, giving me an ironic smile when I told him to have fun putting up their tree.

And as I waved him out of the driveway, off into the night, I sent the following thought along with him:

"Enjoy your new life!!!"


Gods I don't miss that chaos one bit.