Now here is something scary... Today while reading one of my favorite blogs I heard that the setting of one of my favorite family traditions will no longer be open for business. Brace yourselves for this one, call me dramatic, avert you eyes before I crush all your dreams for your future families, or keep reading on completely bored. Whcichever action is your own, know that I apologize. I apologize that your life will never be the same because Pik a Pine is closing. I kid you not. This is the last year of Pik a Pine.
My family has been going to this Christmas tree farm since before I was born. Seriously, I went while in the womb. While everyone else is running around St Joe like mad the day after Thanksgiving for the sales, we are bundled up chanting "pik a pine, pik a pine, pik a pik a pine." We all complain. We all make fun of the silly tradition, and we all never miss it (or the hot chocolate and popcorn). In fact, even our dogs go.
2010 has been a year of changes for me. You might say that I made it my "D.B." In the past 11 months I have gotten engaged to the love of my life, moved out of my Plaza apartment (with this change came moving away from Abby who I had spent the previous ten months living just three floors above) into my first home, moved David from St. Louis to start a completely new career, lost our three grandparents that were still living, accepted a new position and left my first career, and, oh, planned a wedding. There was a cold January night before one of my best friends, Jenna, moved to Nevada that Abby, Jenna, and I sat outside on our bench on Ward Parkway and promised we would all make 2010 our dirty bitch. Yep. That's the phrase we chose. So we proclaimed that 2010 would be our "D.B." And I would say that all of these changes proved that I did do just that.
I don't know exactly why all of this hit me with the announcement of Pik a Pine closing, but it all seems related to me. I was hesitant to switch family traditions around this year when Erika suggested that we all go to Schweizer's instead of Pik a Pine. So, just as any normal family would do, we put our heads down and took a vote. (What, that's not how your family does it?) And when push came to shove, we all agreed that it would be fun for Seth and Eli to take a tractor ride at Schweizer's. And it was fun. We started a new tradition this year. We decided 2010 was the year to start new Christmas traditions, and I guess that Pik a Pine agreed too. We didn't know this would be the last year of Pik a Pine before we went to Schweizer's, but this all seems to have fallen in place just perfectly.
As I say good bye to Pik a Pine and wonderful memories, I have to close this year saying goodbye to my grandparents. So I will go to Pik a Pine one last time. Not for a Christmas tree this year, but for beautiful grave mounds for George, Ray, and Shirley.
And I thought the scariest thing was that "Marley was dead." ...I've only read to Chapter 1, but more on this later.
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