Homework

Two posts in two days - don't get used to it! :)

Many times, the important lessons in life come at the most unexpected times. Take for instance my recent Black Friday experience. For quite some time, my husband has been talking about a flat screen tv to hang above our fireplace. I bought one about a week and a half ago, but begin to question my decision. He is definitely all about quality when he purchases something; would he like this tv?

I decided to break down and tell him about it. After all, there were some pretty good Black Friday deals; and maybe he could direct me towards something he would REALLY like. So as we got ready to go to Thanksgiving lunch at his grandma's, I told him that I really needed his help with his Christmas present.

"NO!!!!!" he hollered - he didn't want to know anything about it. He ran to the other end of the house just in time to take his dad's call.

I could hear the conversation - "No, Dad, I don't know what DLP means when it comes to tv's. Janice, do you know? No, Dad, she doesn't know either. Look it up online." It came up again briefly at lunch but quickly died.

After we got back home, I insisted that we discuss his present. I told him about the tv I had bought and threw some other options out there for him. He was running off to golf with my dad, so the tv took a back burner for several hours. When he got back for dinner, though, we started discussing it again.

After dinner, his dad called again; it was that silly DLP discussion still. No, none of my family knew what it was either. Maybe we should look it up. We really just didn't know.

My mom, sister, and I ran out to do some Thanksgiving evening shopping and were headed home when my husband called. He had found the tv he wanted - I drove past the store about 10:00pm, and there were already 2 cars in the parking lot. I told him that if he REALLY wanted this tv, he should seriously consider driving down there RIGHT NOW to save his spot in line.

My husband, who highly values his sleep and highly despises most shopping, actually agreed. So we pulled back into the parking lot at 11 that night. We set up our camping chair as the fourth person in line, and climbed back into the car to stay warm. People began to gather the closer it got to the 4am opening. At 3:15, the manager and several workers came out and handed out the vouchers for the limited-quantity items.

I was so excited for my husband - he was finally getting the tv he wanted - this was going to be such a great gift for him!!!!! He got his voucher and began to study it. He had a puzzled look on his face, walked off to talk to a worker, came back and just gave me a look (you wives will understand that). I could tell something was REALLY wrong.

The tv was DLP, something that had been in the advertisement. What did that mean? Most importantly, that it is too thick to wall mount. No, this giant tv he has wanted so badly to hang over our fireplace would be relegated to the same spot as our current too-big-for-the-space entertainment center is now. The more we talked about it, he realized that he was about to make a financial investment that would leave him completely unsatisfied with his purchase. Had we realized earlier that the tv wouldn't work, the store actually had two other options that would have been great. But the store workers had already moved so far down the line, we were afraid the other options were gone. All of the day's conversations about DLP - it should have been our warning. But we didn't take the time to do our homework. We walked away empty-handed at 3:30am, exhausted and cold.

When school resumes after Thanksgiving break, this will definitely become an important lesson for the girls. There are a lot of things that you may never use after you graduate from school, but right now you don't know what those things will be. The questions of today are often times preparing you for something that is coming tomorrow, and you need to be ready. Look it up. Do your homework.