So.... This has been such a fun year getting ready for Christmas because Kaya really understands what is going on this year! She is so excited for Santa to come. We have written him letters (asking for a play kitchen), sat on his lap at Macy's (asking for a play kitchen)... and Santa even sent her a video message (telling her he was going to try to bring her a play kitchen if she was a good girl)... Anytime you ask Kaya what Santa is bringing her she says... Santa told me he was bringing me a kitchen!! Needless to say... this entire Christmas has been wrapped around a play kitchen. So, I was prepared for this and had one ordered over a month ago! I had until December 28th to pick it up. I decided to wait a little while so that Kaya wouldn't find it hiding in any closets. I went to pick it up last night with my Mom. I brought the email confirmation with me and headed to the pick up counter. They scanned the bar code on the computer and said, ok.. we will be right back with your purchase. I waited.... and waited.... and waited... and the lady finally came out and said... I'm sorry... we can't find it... ?? I was like... you have to find it! You don't understand what a big deal this gift is... so she went back and looked again... and I waited.... and waited... and waited.... she finally came back out with another older woman and a tall, bald, lanky man... all three of them told me they couldn't find it.. they were sorry and this never happens... I started to panic! All I could think about was Kaya waking up on Christmas morning to no kitchen and then at 3 years old deciding there was NO Santa Clause!! The little old lady looked me in the eyes and I did the only thing I know how to do when I'm stressed out... I started to cry... at that moment this little old lady knew how important this kitchen must be to a special little girl. Her eyes welled up with tears and she said...'honey, don't cry.. now I'm going to cry." So she told me that the tall, lanky man who was a manager was looking in one more place.. and she was going out to the floor to see if any had been restocked. Apparently my Mom followed the old lady and gave her the sob story that I was a single mom and had worked really hard to get this kitchen for my daughter (which is true, but I don't like to make myself sound that pathetic. ;)) That made the old lady work even harder... they searched the entire store high and low... they were all sold out of kitchens of every kind. Finally, the little old lady went to the front of the store and found a kitchen in the 'returns' section. She and my Mom hauled that Kitchen all the way back to the back of the store. Along the way I guess there were 2 separate occasions were two people asked if they could buy the kitchen, but the little lady just said no and kept pressing forward... They scanned the bar code on the kitchen and it was 3x as much as the original one I had paid for! I knew I couldn't afford that, but at this point i was thinking in my head that I was willing to take out a small loan to get whatever kitchen i could get my hands on so that my baby would wake up to a kitchen on Christmas morning! After about 2 hours of this... 4 people came out including the manager and the little old lady... and I burst into tears... The manager said... 'now stop crying, I have something to tell you. we don't have that kitchen anywhere, I can't find it in any other stores either... (at this point, I was in full on sobs!)" I was thinking to myself, 'where am I going to find another kitchen the night before Christmas eve at 11:30 pm??" Then I was thinking.."Please God, just because I'm not the perfect person doesn't mean Kaya should have to pay the price! Please let them find her kitchen!' Then the manager said... 'please don't cry, I am going to tell you something good now. I am going to give you this kitchen that is much more expensive for the same price you bought your other one, that we lost." I was so happy that I was crying even harder now! The little old lady was in tears and gave me a little smile, and said... 'he was going to have to answer to me, if he didn't make this happen!' I gave her a hug and my mom who was also in tears gave her a hug too! I thanked the manager and wiped my eyes and said a little prayer of thanks... Christmas morning, tomorrow, will be a happy day! It was a Christmas Miracle!! (also, thanks to my sister leslie who was texting me the whole time and offered to give Kaya the kitchen she bought her daughter Stella, who is 2, instead and Stella could get her kitchen when a new one arrived... She said Stella was too young to know any better... thanks lessy! xoxox)
