[video] [backdated to earlier in the morning]
Merry Christmas! Wait, no, it's Life Day here. But do you say Happy Life Day, or Merry Life Day? Well, whatever! You totally get the drift.
Anyway, I have a present for everyone! I totally have been trying to get my writing mojo back. I mean, getting kidnapped and then drafted - complete writer's block. But a little holiday magic and I was able to draft up something short and sweet.
I hope you guys like it. And I think I figured out how to attach this right. Enjoy!!!
The Peppermint Stick
There was a candy store that sat in the center of town, one that was known to have everything you could ever want. Gumdrops and malt balls, caramels and gummy bears - there was something for everyone, old and young alike.
Now, like most places, the owners went through great pains to decorate their store for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The day after Thanksgiving (later than most places!) the garland was hung, the tree was decorated, and the store cast a soft glow of twinkling lights down the street. Everything had to be perfect.
The special candies for the holidays also arrived, and as the owners worked to put them out, they came upon the box of special candy cane sticks. These candy cane sticks were bigger than most, with the brightest red stripes, and they shined when twisted in the light. The owner just knew that these sticks would be bought - they were too beautiful not to be.
However, as he unpacked the box, he came upon a little surprise. In one of the boxes, there was a single white stick without a hint of a red stripe. "Oh no," he thought as he looked at the dull white stick. "You’re not what people will want. You look dull and plain, and don’t even shine. Who is going to want a white peppermint stick?"
He took the stick and put it up on a high shelf, away from the displays with their fancy lights and special bins. And there, as the holiday season went, the stick sat up and watched all its friends go off to their happy homes while it just sat there and gathered dust. However, the stick was not sad, and instead amused itself by listening to the Christmas music and imagined the day that it too would find a home for the holidays.
Then, one day the owner, while wrapping a package, realized that he was out of red ribbon. He looked at the spool and saw that there was only a little length left, not long enough to wrap anything. He placed the ribbon on the shelf next to the stick, then went to find another roll to use.
The stick, lost in the music, didn’t realize that it had a neighbor until the ribbon started to cry. "What’s wrong, pretty red ribbon?" the stick asked.
"I’m all that’s left from my roll and I’m not long enough to wrap any gifts," the ribbon lamented. "What use am I, if I can’t wrap anything?"
The stick just smiled and rolled closer to the ribbon. "I have sat on this shelf for my whole life, and I’ve watched as people have walked by. No one notices me, because who would want a white peppermint stick when my friends are so much more beautiful with their bright red stripes and shiny coats."
"Then why are you smiling, if no one notices you?" the ribbon asked, confused.
"Because I know that there is a reason that I am here. Someone made me like this for a reason, and while I don’t understand why, there is nothing I can do to change it. Why should I cry about not being the best and the brightest, when I know I taste just as good as they do? One day, someone WILL notice me, and I will be here, waiting patiently."
The ribbon looked over the edge at the candy cane sticks, then at the white peppermint stick. "You know, friend, I might not be long enough to make a bow on a present, but I think I have just enough to wrap around you. Perhaps I was put here too, to help you somehow. If you just let me hug you, I can be your pretty red stripe."
The stick thought a moment, and then nodded. "If nothing else, I am always happy to have a hug from a friend. That means more to me than looking pretty."
Together, they rolled around until the ribbon was hugging the white peppermint stick tightly, and there was even enough left in its short length to make a tiny loop at the end. Then, in each other’s embrace, they rolled off the top shelf and landed in the stack of candy cane sticks.
The candy cane sticks laughed at their friend and how silly the ribbon and the white peppermint stick looked hugging one another. But at that moment, a little girl walked over. She looked at all the candy cane sticks, who twisted themselves to catch the light the best so that they would shine brighter than the others.
The ribbon and stick, however, couldn’t shine like that. But the young woman looked at them and smiled, reaching in to pick up the two friends. Taking out her only dollar, she went to the cash register to buy them. When the owner saw that it was the white peppermint stick, he asked if she was sure.
"Anyone can have a candy cane," the young woman said. "There are hundreds of them made every day. I wanted something special, and this is it."
The young woman took home the ribbon and peppermint stick, and when she got there, she found a spot on her tree that had needed just one more thing. Not a single one of the ornaments matched, but the young woman didn’t care. Each ornament was one she had picked with care each year, and was special to her.
And sitting on that tree, for the first time ever, both the ribbon and white peppermint stick shone brightly. But this was not because of the tree lights twinkling around them, but with the light of the love that the woman had for them, and the friendship that they all shared.
Anyway, I have a present for everyone! I totally have been trying to get my writing mojo back. I mean, getting kidnapped and then drafted - complete writer's block. But a little holiday magic and I was able to draft up something short and sweet.
I hope you guys like it. And I think I figured out how to attach this right. Enjoy!!!
The Peppermint Stick
There was a candy store that sat in the center of town, one that was known to have everything you could ever want. Gumdrops and malt balls, caramels and gummy bears - there was something for everyone, old and young alike.
Now, like most places, the owners went through great pains to decorate their store for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The day after Thanksgiving (later than most places!) the garland was hung, the tree was decorated, and the store cast a soft glow of twinkling lights down the street. Everything had to be perfect.
The special candies for the holidays also arrived, and as the owners worked to put them out, they came upon the box of special candy cane sticks. These candy cane sticks were bigger than most, with the brightest red stripes, and they shined when twisted in the light. The owner just knew that these sticks would be bought - they were too beautiful not to be.
However, as he unpacked the box, he came upon a little surprise. In one of the boxes, there was a single white stick without a hint of a red stripe. "Oh no," he thought as he looked at the dull white stick. "You’re not what people will want. You look dull and plain, and don’t even shine. Who is going to want a white peppermint stick?"
He took the stick and put it up on a high shelf, away from the displays with their fancy lights and special bins. And there, as the holiday season went, the stick sat up and watched all its friends go off to their happy homes while it just sat there and gathered dust. However, the stick was not sad, and instead amused itself by listening to the Christmas music and imagined the day that it too would find a home for the holidays.
Then, one day the owner, while wrapping a package, realized that he was out of red ribbon. He looked at the spool and saw that there was only a little length left, not long enough to wrap anything. He placed the ribbon on the shelf next to the stick, then went to find another roll to use.
The stick, lost in the music, didn’t realize that it had a neighbor until the ribbon started to cry. "What’s wrong, pretty red ribbon?" the stick asked.
"I’m all that’s left from my roll and I’m not long enough to wrap any gifts," the ribbon lamented. "What use am I, if I can’t wrap anything?"
The stick just smiled and rolled closer to the ribbon. "I have sat on this shelf for my whole life, and I’ve watched as people have walked by. No one notices me, because who would want a white peppermint stick when my friends are so much more beautiful with their bright red stripes and shiny coats."
"Then why are you smiling, if no one notices you?" the ribbon asked, confused.
"Because I know that there is a reason that I am here. Someone made me like this for a reason, and while I don’t understand why, there is nothing I can do to change it. Why should I cry about not being the best and the brightest, when I know I taste just as good as they do? One day, someone WILL notice me, and I will be here, waiting patiently."
The ribbon looked over the edge at the candy cane sticks, then at the white peppermint stick. "You know, friend, I might not be long enough to make a bow on a present, but I think I have just enough to wrap around you. Perhaps I was put here too, to help you somehow. If you just let me hug you, I can be your pretty red stripe."
The stick thought a moment, and then nodded. "If nothing else, I am always happy to have a hug from a friend. That means more to me than looking pretty."
Together, they rolled around until the ribbon was hugging the white peppermint stick tightly, and there was even enough left in its short length to make a tiny loop at the end. Then, in each other’s embrace, they rolled off the top shelf and landed in the stack of candy cane sticks.
The candy cane sticks laughed at their friend and how silly the ribbon and the white peppermint stick looked hugging one another. But at that moment, a little girl walked over. She looked at all the candy cane sticks, who twisted themselves to catch the light the best so that they would shine brighter than the others.
The ribbon and stick, however, couldn’t shine like that. But the young woman looked at them and smiled, reaching in to pick up the two friends. Taking out her only dollar, she went to the cash register to buy them. When the owner saw that it was the white peppermint stick, he asked if she was sure.
"Anyone can have a candy cane," the young woman said. "There are hundreds of them made every day. I wanted something special, and this is it."
The young woman took home the ribbon and peppermint stick, and when she got there, she found a spot on her tree that had needed just one more thing. Not a single one of the ornaments matched, but the young woman didn’t care. Each ornament was one she had picked with care each year, and was special to her.
And sitting on that tree, for the first time ever, both the ribbon and white peppermint stick shone brightly. But this was not because of the tree lights twinkling around them, but with the light of the love that the woman had for them, and the friendship that they all shared.