The Story of The Stolen Christmas Trees

In the last piece that I wrote, I mentioned that I accidentally stole a Christmas tree.

In the last piece that I wrote, I briefly mentioned my stolen Christmas trees:

BEFORE DUMPSTER DIVING WAS COOL

The need to explain keeps haunting me, as I still feel bad about it. Perhaps you’ll help me with a solution.

photo of a Bath & Body Works tree in my window. Taken by me

The story of the stolen tree begins with a trip to the mall. We used to frequent popular stores and check out what items they had deemed as trash. It was approximately 10 p.m. and the entire parking lot was empty. Bath & Body works was my favorite place to dive. Many times, we found brand new candles, wallflowers and still-sealed lotions.

The month was December. The crisp air was so cold that we were moving fast, trying not to freeze.

My husband pulled up to the dumpster behind the store. He quickly peeked inside. It was empty. I physically made a sad face. I was so disappointed that there were no candles.

And then, I saw them.

Approximately 20 feet away were three fake Christmas trees. They looked skinny and un-loved. Their branches were all down and bunched together. Immediately, I pictured them in my window, beautiful and glowing.