Abby and a blueberry bush

I was so thrilled the day I ordered a blueberry bush from Gardens Alive catalog. The best part about my bush was that it was free. Sometimes during the summer the company ran a special $25 off any $25 order coupon and I was able to snag a miniature blueberry bush for nothing out of pocket. However, I was informed by the sales rep that my bush will either arrive in late September or early October. Since I didn’t have to pay anything, I didn’t really care when I would receive my berry bush.

One beautiful Saturday morning, I checked our mail and was greeted by a postman with a big box. On my way home I was trying to figure out what could be in the box, since I wasn’t expecting anything exciting. Well, I totally forgot that several months back I ordered a blueberry bush so I was super excited when I opened the box. I decided not to delay and plant the bush right away in a huge flower pot. I filled up the pot with organic soil, nicely dug a hole and planted my soon to be fruitful bush.

Once the task was complete, I went inside to wash my hands. As I was glancing through our kitchen window, while wiping my hands, I notice Abby (our dog) sniffing the bush. I stepped outside and noticed that the dog tried to help me with the bush by digging around the plant. Sternly I warned Abby with “No”, but apparently silly dog though that I wanted to play with her. Note to myself…I need to work on my stern voice. I had to tell Abby several time to leave the plant alone and finally I thought she understood.

That same Saturday I had to drive to Atlanta to speak about the Operation Christmas Child. I had a fabulous 2 days meeting wonderful folks and sharing the story that the Lord has written for me. On Sunday we (my husband and I) stayed at the hotel and Daniel drove me to work on Monday morning. I totally forgot to tell Daniel about my exciting freebie, so on my way home after work I could not wait to show him our family blueberry bush.

Anxiously I waited to arrive home, but my excitement quickly went away when I saw this…

I saw an empty pot and the blueberry bush was gone. I gasped. Daniel thought something was wrong with me. Trying to keep serious face I told him all about the missing bush. He started to laugh hysterically, but it wasn’t that funny to me. Abby at that moment was jumping up and down wanting attention. And I was trying to figure out should I laugh it off or stay upset. Finally I shared my feelings with Abby, but apparently she once again interpreted my stern voice as invitation to pet her.

At the end of the day I learned a lesson. Life is short, laugh when you can and be glad that the blueberry bush was free (thanks to a coupon).