The Joyous Misadventures of the Syrup and the WHAT?!

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I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving Day!  I woke up early Thanksgiving morning with a plan, to make a turkey, sweet potato casserole, and cornbread dressing in an orderly, calm manner.  Wow, the morning went so differently than I expected that it allowed me to use many of my counseling skills.  Here’s the story…

I started the day by dumping a bunch of salt in the turkey!  Ruh-roh, no problem.  Breathe deeply.  Scoop out the salt.  Do not say something nasty about yourself.  Make coffee.  Enjoy the quiet.  Move on.

Even though I had already been to the grocery five times this week, I forgot the syrup for the sweet potato casserole! When I realized this at 7 A.M., I also realized that all of the grocery stores were closed.  First thought? Panic! If I don’t bring the sweet potato casserole, there will be a riot.  Second thought?  Breathe deeply again.  Get clever.  I called to a local restaurant that serves pancakes and said in my sweetest voice, “Good morning! May I buy some syrup from your restaurant?” This was met with a baffled, “Huh?” but the manager promised to figure something out to help me.  Move on.

I got the turkey into the oven and lay down for 10 minutes to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, a tradition in our household.   Ruh-roh again!  I awakened an hour later, thus throwing my timing off.  First thought? “AAAACK!”  I ran out of the bedroom and said to my husband, “We’ve got to go the restaurant RIGHT NOW!”  We zipped over to the restaurant where the manager helped me with my now desperate syrup needs.  Because my mood was starting to go stinky, my husband used what is called a reframe.  He said, “Remember, Debbie, you forget something big every time you make a big meal. This time, it was the syrup’s chance.” That turned my mood around instantly and I started to laugh.

So I got home and it was time to make the sweet potato casserole.  Warm up the coffee.  While I am mashing the sweet potatoes I reached over for my favorite coffee cup to have a sip of coffee.  Sip one down.  I go to take the second sip but this time I saw something…ODD. I thought I recognized the something but I could not put it together.  What is it?  I tilted the cup and what did I find?  Yes, my friends, a nail clipper!  The horror on my husband’s face made me laugh out loud.  I did my best not to hurl right then and there.

So what do people do when the unexpected happens?

They dance to disco music and begin a speed round of toenail clipper jokes:

The toenails. Are they fresh?

Do we have a second toenail clipper?  This one looks awfully lonely by itself.

Garnish with toenails and serve.  

I’ve heard of baking a file in the chocolate cake to help an inmate escape but a toenail clipper in the coffee cup is new one on me.

You get the idea.

So what have we learned from these misadventures into joyousness?

•    We have learned to breathe slowly and deeply so we can think.
•    We have learned about the beauty of the reframe, where you turn the yucky thought around to make it something manageable.  
•    We have learned that we have the choice to laugh.
•    And finally, we have learned that dancing heals all yucky things.

So in the spirit of the holiday season, I wish you a good wiggle and a hop.  Laugh and dance your fanny off!   I sure will.