Garage Floods

I don't have a Christmas tree.  If you know me, this should come as a complete and utter shock.  Like pick-up-your-jaw-from-the-floor kinda shock.  

I love Christmas.

I love Christmas music.

I love Christmas sweaters.

I love Christmas coffee mugs.

I love Christmas lights (especially white twinkly ones).  

I love sappy Christmas movies.

I love Christmas fiction - equally as sappy as the aforementioned movies.

So, why don't I have a tree?

I had a tree.  I had a lovely skinny 6' tree.  I even had teal, red, and white ornaments.  Very shabby chic.

I had stored for the summer 2 boxes of childhood ornaments.

I had a box of snowmen.

I had my childhood stocking - which hasn't been filled in years.

All of these items met their demise during one of two garage floods my last summer in the apartment complex.

I have not blogged about this event even though it happened 17+ months ago yet I remember most of the events surrounding both floods.  {I've not blogged about it for several reasons - one of which is totally ridiculous but probably the most relevant - I've not blogged about missing a Christmas tree, my childhood ornaments, and photos because on some level it felt extremely selfish.  In a world with so many people hurting and with desperate needs and here is "poor Angie Good" writing about how much she misses these silly things like photos and Christmas knick-knacks.}

The first time my garage flooded I learned that not all storage totes are made alike.  This flood ruined my totes of winter clothes (sweaters, boots, etc.).  This one was traumatic but not as traumatic as the second flood.  I can always thrift and get more cute sweaters.  

You see, when I drove home after the 2nd flood, I was greeted with gushing water carrying away my all of my Christmas ornaments.  My teal and red ornaments floating away.  My Granddaughter ornament from circa 1985 sailed on like it was headed for Lake Michigan.  

What tore my heart out was opening my garage door and seeing my childhood ornaments water-logged.  And then there were the two (what I thought were safe) photo boxes that were completely destroyed.  Negatives (who has those anymore?  Not Angie Good.) ruined.  My high school yearbooks - which honestly I hadn't looked at them years and clearly the people who wrote that we would be BFF's are either A) still my friend or B) have faded away like a distant memory.

The ruined ornaments and drenched photos broke my heart.  They cannot be replaced.  I can't go back in time to 1987 and gather my friends and snap another photo.

Last Christmas I didn't pay too much attention to not having a Christmas tree as I spent Christmas in Michigan with my family.  

This year - so as not to feel too terribly sad about not having a Christmas tree - I have copious amounts of white twinkle lights around.  I, also, was looking forward to having our department tree up - which did not happen.  

Maybe I will shoot for 2019...until then if we go on some sort of adventure, please remind me to pick up an ornament.