Our Christmas Tree...

...told us it was time time to take it down. It fell over last night at about three in the morning.
I know the because I was having a latent college moment of sorts.
 Had inventory at the store the next morning...had to be there at 5:30 a.m. Closed the night before...tried to talk myself into tired. I was wired. Got to a point...I'm up. All night. Something about it felt like being young again...can't quite explain. It felt both lovely and desperate at the same time.
Inventory...we were less about 500 units quoted. We have 4300+ units of product in the store.
WOW.
Because it never seems to quite be what someone's looking for.
sigh.
So back to the tree.
If it had been up to us think it would have been there til mid February.
Last night it told us...I'm done. Just toppled.
Tonight I collected ornaments (not one broken in the fall) and wound the lights off the tree.
I hugged the tree...thanked the tree...and cried.
This was a tree my Dad would like. One he would've selected.
I cried because I realized that my Dad will never again be in our house at Christmas.
...or ever.