The Ball of Christmas.

All of you who have been reading along for awhile now know about my sisters.  They are idiots, but I love them. 

Here they are, minus Rachael.  This picture was taken around 2 am during Black Friday shopping at Target.  That’s Elise there on the left and Lyndsey on the right.   After we’d been waiting in line for an hour.

For what you ask?  The {new} Ball of Christmas.

Before I show you the new Ball of Christmas though, I need to tell you about the old Ball of Christmas.

Once upon a time… Ok, two years ago…

There was a fairy princess named Elise who had never been Black Friday shopping before in her whole life.  Well, Elise’s older {wiser, more fun & more beautiful} sister Michelle tried to convince her to get up at dark thirty to join us on a Black Friday shopping adventure like no other.  She would witness vomiting in the line at Kohls, cart ramming and other fun things without purchasing a single thing because alas, Elise was a poor college student and had zero shopping dollars to spend.

At 4:30 am the three sisters would find themselves at JC Penney where the two older sisters would walk right by the lady handing out a free gift for they knew it was a hunk of junk.  {Seriously JC Penney, why don’t you just give people a dollar or two off coupon rather than that stuff?}  Not Elise though.  Black Friday was NEW!  It was SHINY!  They were giving out FREE things!  FREE! 

And so came to be the possession of the magic Ball of Christmas.  A Mickey Mouse snow globe with 2009 emblazoned across the front.  A crappy little trinket by the standards of many, sure.  But anytime there were arguments or we needed coffee or a bathroom or new music, Elise would shake it and hold up the Ball of Christmas and we were to ooooh and aaaahh as much as was warranted for the situation at hand and all would be well. 

No matter where we were… in the car, in the store, waiting in line.  It was magical.  It gave us license to behave like the idiots we really are in public.

The Ball of Christmas sat silent last year.   Not only because Elise and I were having a 6 month argument, but because I was out of Black Friday commission thanks to a little bout in the hospital.  I may have shed a tear or two in that hospital room last year when they were showing the shopping madness on the news.

This year though, we checked and double checked.  There were Facebook and cell phone conversations.  Yes, indeed Elise had the Ball of Christmas and it would be accompanying us on our journey.  It was sitting safely on a shelf in her room at my dad’s house awaiting the magic of Black Friday shopping.

I wasn’t there when the following transpired, so the following is all heresay.  I tend to believe at least the gist of the conversation at least.

Lyndsey:  Elise, do you have the ball of Christmas?

Elise:  Yes.  It’s upstairs in my room.

Lyndsey:  Go get it.

Elise:  No, I’m waiting for Michelle to get here.

Lyndsey:  Ugh, just GO GET IT!  We’re not waiting for her.

Lyndsey:  HA!  BALL OF CHRISTMAS.  **shake shake shake**

Lyndsey:  WHY would they give out glass things to the public???  I thought it was plastic.  That’s stupid!

All that glittery, glittery water. 

Elise cried actual tears.

Just like that, Lyndsey ruined Thanksgiving.

And then, like a beacon in the night… 2 am brings a new and improved ball of Christmas.  This one is an actual ball and um, Lyndsey can’t break it when she drops it.

Now, I am sure you’re asking yourself WHY am I reading this craziness?  Michelle and her family are nuts.

And you would be right.