Yes, Virginia, the Christmas spirit still exists.

We began our Christmas celebrations on Saturday morning of December 24th. I explained to Delia that I had written Santa a letter to come to our house one night early, and thankfully he complied!

Delia, Alaina, Stu, and I all enjoyed the many gifts frome one another and Santa, and while Alaina took her morning nap, we packed up the car and put the house back in order. We planned to leave town by around 12:30 or so to go to Eau Claire to join my family for Christmas there. By about 12:40 we had managed to pack in all of the suitcases, gifts, Delia's toys, Alaina's toys and gear, the dog gear, along with Stu, Delia, Alaina, Sarah (dog), Sydney (dog), and me.

I noticed while packing up the van that my left front tire seemed low. Stu agreed, so we planned to fill it with air when we stopped at the gas station for gas and snacks.

At the gas station, I pulled up by the air dispenser, and Stu hopped out of the car. He went to remove the valve cover, and the valve just snapped off. Our tire was flat. Oy vey.

Once Stu and I figured out how to lower the spare tire and where to set the jack, he went to work. I grabbed my phone and began looking for tire stores. Stu told me he had been to Discount Tire in Blaine before, so I found their number and called them. A young man answered the phone, and I told him about our situation. He said they closed at 1:00 that day but that he wanted to talk to his manager. I looked at the clock. It was 1:07.

A minute later, the same young man came back to the phone and asked where we were. I explained we were just a few minutes away, and my husband was just getting the spare tire on now. The man said he and his manager would stay and wait for us. I thanked him profusely and told him my name. He said his name was Chris.

We finally arrived at Discount Tire at 1:30, and one of the garage doors was open. I pulled up and said, "I'm Kelly!"

A young man smiled at me and said, "I'm Chris."

I handed over the keys and took Alaina and Delia out of the van. Stu wrangled our two somewhat distraght dogs and put them on their leashes.

Within a minute Chris told me that the sensor in my tire had corroded. The part was $65 or he would put in a cheaper rubber plug. I told him to go ahead and replace the sensor, as long as it would not take any extra time. I thanked him again for staying late for us; he explained he and his wife had been in a similar situation over the holiday, and he didn't want me out on the road with just a spare tire.

Less than 15 minutes later, Chris and his manager had fixed up our tire and strung the spare back into place. Chris rang up the purchase and told me it was $69. I seemed a bit shocked, and he apologized that the sensor was somewhat expensive. I told him it was not a problem.

My shock came from the fact that despite the fact that it was Christmas Eve and both of these gentleman had stayed at work to help us, they didn't even charge us for labor.

At 1:45, we were literally back on the road, feeling very fortunate, despite everything. Thank goodness that we were at the gas station when the tire went flat. And thank goodness for Chris and his manager at Discount Tire.

The Christmas spirt still exists.