For the Love of a Comforter

‘Twas the eve before Super Bowl, when out of the house,
I was busily shopping, without the spouse.
With friends, I searched and rummaged with care,
In hopes that I’d find a great bargain there;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a beautiful comforter, with eight pieces to share!

More rapid than eagles, I ran to the shelf,
And I whistled, and shouted, and called to myself;
“Now, how can this be! I never thought to entertain
That when I saw this once, I would ever again!
To the front of the store! To the register, quick!
Before I get back my ability to think!”
So up to the line in the front I did fly,
With my comforter bounding there by my side.

The clerk was slender and tall, a nice fellar
And I laughed when I saw him, because of my treasure.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his wrist,
And I released my card from my white-knuckled fist.
He spoke three words, and went straight to work,
“Credit or debit,” he said with a jerk.

And laying a finger aside of his nose,
Despite the price tag, my excitement rose;
I sprang to my car, carrying my bag in hand,
The comforter was all mine, just as I’d planned;
And I began to exclaim, as we drove past a tree,
“A happy Super Bowl to all! Especially to me!”

Ok, I have to explain. I'm not really the kind of person (anymore) who loves to bargain shop. I used to really like it and would spend hours searching and searching until I found the perfect thing for a third of the price. And I would go home totally thrilled and proud of myself. Well, those days have gone by, I'm afraid. I just don't have the patience I once did, when I was trying to make babysitting money stretch as far as humanly possible. I no longer feel the thrill of the hunt when confronted with a bargain store. I just feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and completely convinced that I will never find a thing in there that I want.

Well, folks, I witnessed a miracle on no other, but Super Bowl eve. DH and I were visiting in Kaysville. A bunch of his highschool friends, several of whom are married, were getting together to participate in that wonderous male ritual that is football (and snacks). The ladies were feeling a bit restless and wanted to go out for awhile to shop on Saturday afternoon. We heard about this store called Bukoos where they discount. Well, we had several hours, so I felt confident that I could have a good time, eventhough I was aware of the recent debilitating habit of my patience running thin.

I have never felt the thrill of the hunt more acutely than on Super Bowl eve at approximately 4:30 p.m. I saw a comforter that had been on a bed I'd slept in over a year ago. I fell in love with this bedspread and would have loved to have bought it, but I had no idea where it came from. And if I can't have enough patience to look through a couple dozen racks for a pair of pants or some home decorations, I mean seriously—I was not going to have the patience to hunt down some bedspread I'd seen once. I never even considered it. But, lo and behond, there it was. Beckoning to me from the 40% off rack.

I haven't felt this sort of shopping jubilation in a really long time. I literally could not believe it. I kept looking at it just to be totally sure it was really the exact same thing. And miraculously, it really was. AND, I was getting it for almost half price. Ok, it was still kind of a lot, but I couldn't even care at that point. I was flying from the adrenaline. I know it sounds stupid, but it was so true. I couldn't shut up about it; I'm sure I annoyed my friends to no end, and they will never go bargain shopping with me again.

When I got it home, it turned out it was in worse disrepair than I had imagined, but I still don't care. I got it for a good deal, and I'm going to fix it up and take good care of it and hope it lasts till I'm too old to tell the difference.

I tell you what—it felt like Christmas to me.