Better Not Steal Christmas Lights

Is it too soon to post a Christmas memory? Seeing pics of exterior lights going up remind me of the year of the stolen bulbs.

My dad put lights up like the ones in the photo below - the big multi-colored screw-in ones - along the roofline and around the front door. One year, he noticed missing bulbs, two or three at a time just gone. He would replace them and a few days later, gone again.

One night, we had guests over and instead of hanging out in the den at the back of the house, we were gathered in the living room in the front.

During a lull in the conversation, we heard an odd, slow squeaking sound. My dad threw open the front door to catch the light bulb thieves red-handed.

The teens ran, Daddy in hot pursuit while the rest of us stayed where we were. Moments later, Daddy returned, teens in tow and made them join us.

This was not an act of kindness... he was making sure those kids were shamed for stealing our Christmas lights. Parents were called, apologies made and no lights were taken again.

At least not from our house.