As I settled into my “Comfy Chair” for a well-deserved afternoon nap, I reflected upon my very successful day! First, I woke up a 6 a.m. feeling a little groggy from eating a ton of leftover Halloween candy the night before, made coffee, fed the dogs, fed myself a wonderful breakfast of eggs & fresh bagel, coffee, and honey and cinnamon on the last bite of bagel. It was truly a tummy busting but healthy breakfast.
Then I dressed warmly, went outside and picked up all of the lovely poochie presents left in the yard by my lovely doggies, put out the garbage and ran to the drugstore to pick up my prescriptions and a few other impulse items, it seems I cannot walk past a half off sale. Next I ate lunch at the local Mexican diner and returned home in time for my afternoon nap!
I pulled my warm Halloween throw blanket over me, shrugged my body deep into my “Comfy Chair” and awaited the glory of a rejuvenating afternoon nap to commence!
As I was drifting into nirvana land, I felt a tug on my shoulder, “Joel, why did you buy 12 bags of Halloween candy? I found them on the kitchen table.”
I groggily replied, “They were half off at the pharmacy!”
My wife responded, “You already bought four bags for Halloween and we did not have any kids stop by!”
“Unless you have a note from your Doctor stating that you can now eat candy, because you have achieved your weight goal and are no longer diabetic, I want you to get up and drive to the Sacred Heart Mission and donate all of the unopened bags of candy and the clothing we selected to donate right now!”
“Wait, give away the candy that I just bought on sale, I can eat it a little at a time. It will be gone by next Halloween or by Thanksgiving!”
“This is nourishment for the soul! This is not just candy, its leftover Halloween Candy! This is my childhood revisited, I used to walk for miles and spend hours filling up my pillowcase with goodies to enjoy the Halloween after-glow!”
“I love Halloween candy, the variety, the yummyness and its already in individually wrapped size appropriate servings, please do not take away some of my best childhood memories!” I pleaded.
She responded, “You still have those childhood memories stored around your waistline, now get moving and donate this stuff so other children can start their own memories!”
I reluctantly jumped into my car, drove to the mission. I sat in the parking lot getting up the will to drop off my glorious cache, when the spirit moved me, I carried in a huge shopping bag which was my treasured Halloween candy and another huge bag filled with items to donate, inside I went to donate my items.
“Good afternoon Joel! We were wondering if you were going to come in and donate your Halloween candy this year!”
“Wait, I’ve done this before?” I asked?
“Why yes, every year!” they responded.
Then I remembered, yes I have done this every year, In my sugar coma from eating Halloween candy, every year I go to the pharmacy and stock up on candy at half price, bring it home, and then my wife coerced me to donate the candy to the mission.
I set the huge bag down on the counter, smiled and said, “I hope the children receiving the candy will enjoy it!”
I walked away with a good feeling in my heart, the kind of feeling you get when you’re being charitable! During this holiday season, please donate items to your favorite Mission or charity!
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier October 30, 18 Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer”. joelmvernier@aol.com
