XBox 360 – A Family Affair

I had been trying to get an XBox 360 since their release to no avail.  I didn’t try "really" hard, but I did make the rounds. With them being in such short supply, I never figured I would get one as a Christmas gift.

Well I was wrong.

On Christmas morning, after my daughters got their gifts, they wanted to give Daddy his. Well they disappeared for a bit, and then both came out dressed as little Santa Clauses. It was adorable. Then, Jen and the girls placed a package in my lap and they were all pretty giddy. Well I opened it to find the familiar green circles of the XBox 360 logo. I couldn’t believe it. It was awesome!

What was more cool was the tale of how they obtained one. You see, on the Thursday before Christmas, my wife and eldest daughter were at Best Buy. When they walked in, a manager asked them what they might be looking for. My wife asked about the 360 and the manager said they didn’t have any. At that point, my precious little four year-old looked up at him, batted her eyelashes and said "Awww… I really wanted to get my Daddy an XBox 360 for Christmas, what will I do now?"

The manager knew he couldn’t break the little girl’s heart, so he took them aside and said "Well I’m not supposed to tell you this, but we’ll have some in tomorrow morning. Get her before we open and then you might be able to get one." So my little girl got the inside scoop.

Well the next morning, my mother-in-law offered to wait in line for the XBox for us. The store was supposed to open at 8:00 AM and Jen figured her Mom would get there at 7:30. She called her Mom at 6:15 and she was already on her way. When she got there, a bunch of people were braving the cold in their cars. She got right out, and a mad dash happened for the front of the store. She got third in line.

She waited out in the cold for an hour-and-a-half to get me the gift. My father-in-law stopped by and brought her coffee too. So my wife started it, my daughter used her cuteness to get the inside scoop, and my mother-in-law braved the cold, and my father-in-law supplied the fuel necessary for my mother-in-law. They all played a part to get me this Christmas’ hottest gift.

As you can tell, I get along with my in-laws. They do so much for us and I’m so grateful, in so many ways, for having them live close by.  And my wife, who for months told me that I didn’t need the Xbox, she knew I wanted it, and knew I would love the surprise. And my daughter who cared enough to use her wiley ways on the salesperson, I am SO in trouble when she gets older 🙂

Thanks to all of you.  The XBox 360 was nice, but the coordinated effort really means so much more. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you all as family. I am truly blessed.

Now, let’s go play some Madden!

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