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Dec 19, 2007

Santa's Health

. Dec 19, 2007

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I am in the refrigerated section of Ralph's grocery store on my way to the cottage cheese but linger in front of the cookie dough with particular interest in the mini cinnamon rolls. Shoppers whiz by with carts loaded to the brim for holiday feasts. A little girl steps up to the cold case and puts her nose within inches of a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough. She is white and wears a pink jacket with a "Dora the Explorer" graphic. She jumps a little in place and claps her hands twice, smiling. A man follows close behind:


Girl: Daddy! Here! Cookies for Santa.
Dad: Okay, okay, honey. Let's see. Here, these are good. Santa likes chocolate chip.
Girl: Is it no sugar? I want to get no sugar.
Dad: Why? These are fine. Regular cookies are fine.
Girl: No! Dad! What if Santa has diabetic like me? It's dangerous!
Dad: (laughs) No, honey. Santa is not diabetic. Don't worry about it. These are fine.
Girl: Daddy! We can't do that! It HAS to be no sugar.
(The man keeps the tube of dough originally chosen and begins to walk away with his daughter pulling on his arm. A few more protests, but soon they are out of sight.)

Moments later, I cave in to the mini cinni's and am wheeling my cart away when the little girl returns holding a woman's hand. The lady carries the tube of cookie dough. The two approach the cold case, put the tube back and take another. They leave with Pillsbury sugar-free chocolate chip dough, sweetened with Splenda.

26 Whispers:

Libdrone said...

what a sweet story. (no pun intended)

I tried to comment on the inhumanity of the teen who threw the burger into the bushes but it seems like google ate my comment.

Vivienne said...

Thanks, Alan. I'm thankful the mom took time to right the wrong. I imagine the little girl fretting about Santa having high blood sugar on Christmas eve and failing to visit everyone's houses. Also, what a sensitive child, huh? Worrying about his well-being.

I hope Google doesn't make a habit of eating comments. Greedy Google.

Daisy said...

I guess moms must understand these things better than dads.

Feeby Neko said...

Oh now that's just too sweet in a suger free kind of way. ;) Kids are so perceptive these days and think about so much more than you would generally expect. I feel bad for kids with diabetes, to be that young and have something that serious can be scary, especially around the holidays when all other children are preparing their mouths to pay for their dentist's next boat. What a sweet little child.

Fletcher said...

I liked this one. Cute kid. I liked how it wasn't depressing either, and rather funny.

Anonymous said...

I am thinking the mother is diabetic and the father isn't. A classic case of 'which 'Santa' gets the cookies they want'?. Me? If I had the sugar-free cookies left by my kid I would end up with a migraine all Christmas day.

Anonymous said...

Nice story, your blog is a break from the tons of "info-oriented" blogs out there..i come here just to relax sometimes :)

Suzanne
Home Business Ideas

hosander said...

The motives of dad are far to transparent, I like that twist to things.

Lynda Lehmann said...

While I'm sorry the little girl has diabetes, her dad could make things easier for her by either respecting her request or explaining to her in more detail, why he thinks the sugar-free option isn't necessary (for Santa.) As the family will likely be eating the cookies after Santa "takes one or two," good old dad is being lax here, as well.

Melody said...

I love this story, it is amazing how compasionate children can be and so sad that this goes away as we age.

Vivienne said...

Hello Merelymel, that's a thought. A migraine on Christmas sure would put a damper on the festivities.

Suzanne, thank you. I'm happy you can chill here and relax. Actually, my niece taught me the word 'chillax'. I kind of like it!

Lynda, good points. I could see he was in a real rush but I think she deserved a moment to stop and recognize her worries...and her thoughtfulness.

Hi News Bitch (love that name, gal), why is that so true about kids? Or perhaps the better question, how can we as adults retain some of our childhood sensitivity towards others. Note to self.

deathsweep said...

Precious...I've always heard that mother knew best!

Lisa McGlaun said...

Vienne,

Just wanted to say thank you for all the referrals that come to me from your blog. I am honored to be part of your blog roll.

Merry Christmas,
Lisa

Stella said...

Cool blog. But I'm all self-conscious now about speaking around strangers. I'd be too worried that part of my conversation would end up in blog somewhere ;)

Actually, when I try to write dialogue, one of my tricks is to pretend I'm eavesdropping on a real conversation - to keep the dialogue sounding natural.

Vivienne said...

Yes, there's a reason that saying exists. Happy holidays Deathsweep!

Hello Lisa, I'm tickled readers are clicking on your link. Your blog is so uplifting! The more the better. Merry Christmas!

Hi Stella, I also hear conversations mentally before writing them. I don't know which habit came first, eavesdropping or hearing my dialogue in my head. I hope I can distinguish between 'dialogue' and hearing voices ;) Thanks for visiting.

Unknown said...

What a nice story! Made me smile.

Esme said...

That is a very cute story. I found your blog via entre card. I'm bookmarking it for interesting reads :)

Vivienne said...

Thanks Spirited Strider & Esme. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm happy the little girl convinced mom!

suchsimplepleasures said...

that was adorable! i'm so glad to hear that the woman replaced the sugar kind for sugar-free...per the little girls orders. after all...it's about the girl giving cookies to santa...not the daddy eating the cookies!
have a wonderful holiday!

Vivienne said...

Exactly! I think he should get coal in his stocking! Happy holidays to you, as well.

T. said...

Haha, you know dad was planning on eating the cookies for himself. Now he's stuck with sugar-free. On the bright side Splenda tastes WAY better than aspartame.

Anonymous said...

How darling! This guy should have given in and been supportive of his daughter's obvious cncern for others. That is such a rare virtue nowadays.

Meadow and Her Kitties said...

What a lovely story...er...overhear-ance? Anyways, thanks for sharing!

Vivienne said...

Thanks so much, Jyackley01! What a thoughtful little gal, huh?

Rene Perez said...

I started at the top of your blog and have worked my way down. I love it. I quickly copied and pasted your link and sent it to two friends on my instant messenger. We all appreciate a good blog.. a breath of fresh air. I am very much an eavesdropper myself and wonder why I never thought of writing about what I've heard. Thank you so much for this! I love reading it and will bookmark, favorite it and pass it on! This one literally brought tears to my eyes. And the man entering the bathroom with the muffins. :-(

Vivienne said...

Welcome, C.R. Thanks for your generous compliments! I'm glad you enjoyed your visit. I'm happy to meet a fellow eavesdropper. It's truly amazing how revealing our words are. I always encourage others to experiment with creativity from eavesdropping. It's the best tool in my writer's box.

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