The Story of The Swap and the Stuffie
Dear DS diary,
It's not often that good things happen to me these days. Today was a rare exception.
Today was the holiday party at the pharmacy where I work. People brought in some food for lunch, which was nice even though a lot of it was junk food. After that we had a Yankee swap. There's no telling who brings what on these things, they're totally random. Getting something you really want, and I mean really want, comes down to pure luck.
I was seventh in line out of ten after a blind draw for order, and three picks before me one of the open packages caught my eye. It had two items in it. One was a small solar flashlight with a crank that needs no batteries, something that is without a doubt useful and in particular for power outages. But there was something else there that caught my attention instead.
For along with the flashlight, there was a stuffie. A small plush moose. It looked adorable and cute, and it looked like it needed a home.
I need to tell you something at this point: I sleep with my stuffies. They're my nighttime companions. Without them, my nights are just too lonely, especially with no face-to-face friends.
And so it was that my heart and my head agreed on something for once: I could use another of these stuffies, for safety and comfort. It would be worth it to take a chance and try to make a play on it, because there was a chance that it would become mine.
My turn comes around, and the incentive to go for the stuffie increased when the package I opened had a Perfect Pancake pan...the one that you sometimes see on TV ads. I basically have no use for it because I don't cook, and I don't want to screw around with how my mother makes her pancakes at home. So now I really have to go for this stuffie.
"The stuffie is too tempting," I conceded, and I swapped my pan with the colleague who had it and the flashlight, meaning she now held the Perfect Pancake pan. Now I just had to hope that somebody didn't swap with me for four more turns.
But the strangest thing happened. The only person to make an exchange during this Yankee swap was me. Everybody else was happy with the packages they opened. Usually this thing is kinda cutthroat where I work. But this year, it was eerily quiet. It was almost disappointing how little action there was with the gifts that were opened.
The key word is almost. Because when it was over, I had the small plush moose to call my very own. I gave it a dry kiss before I went back to work, and I couldn't help but comment to my mother, "What a steal." I did feel a little bad for the colleague who now has a pancake pan, but I really wanted the stuffie.
I took it home this evening, detagged it, and gave it a gentle hug. I now have three nighttime companions, and the pain of losing my therapist and how I just can't get happy about the holidays was lessened, even it's only just for a little while.
I got the flashlight too of course, and I plan to use it if I can figure out how to open that particular package. But the stuffie was what really made it for me, and I will be sleeping with it tonight.
I will post a picture of my new nighttime friend if somebody wants to see it.
It's not often that good things happen to me these days. Today was a rare exception.
Today was the holiday party at the pharmacy where I work. People brought in some food for lunch, which was nice even though a lot of it was junk food. After that we had a Yankee swap. There's no telling who brings what on these things, they're totally random. Getting something you really want, and I mean really want, comes down to pure luck.
I was seventh in line out of ten after a blind draw for order, and three picks before me one of the open packages caught my eye. It had two items in it. One was a small solar flashlight with a crank that needs no batteries, something that is without a doubt useful and in particular for power outages. But there was something else there that caught my attention instead.
For along with the flashlight, there was a stuffie. A small plush moose. It looked adorable and cute, and it looked like it needed a home.
I need to tell you something at this point: I sleep with my stuffies. They're my nighttime companions. Without them, my nights are just too lonely, especially with no face-to-face friends.
And so it was that my heart and my head agreed on something for once: I could use another of these stuffies, for safety and comfort. It would be worth it to take a chance and try to make a play on it, because there was a chance that it would become mine.
My turn comes around, and the incentive to go for the stuffie increased when the package I opened had a Perfect Pancake pan...the one that you sometimes see on TV ads. I basically have no use for it because I don't cook, and I don't want to screw around with how my mother makes her pancakes at home. So now I really have to go for this stuffie.
"The stuffie is too tempting," I conceded, and I swapped my pan with the colleague who had it and the flashlight, meaning she now held the Perfect Pancake pan. Now I just had to hope that somebody didn't swap with me for four more turns.
But the strangest thing happened. The only person to make an exchange during this Yankee swap was me. Everybody else was happy with the packages they opened. Usually this thing is kinda cutthroat where I work. But this year, it was eerily quiet. It was almost disappointing how little action there was with the gifts that were opened.
The key word is almost. Because when it was over, I had the small plush moose to call my very own. I gave it a dry kiss before I went back to work, and I couldn't help but comment to my mother, "What a steal." I did feel a little bad for the colleague who now has a pancake pan, but I really wanted the stuffie.
I took it home this evening, detagged it, and gave it a gentle hug. I now have three nighttime companions, and the pain of losing my therapist and how I just can't get happy about the holidays was lessened, even it's only just for a little while.
I got the flashlight too of course, and I plan to use it if I can figure out how to open that particular package. But the stuffie was what really made it for me, and I will be sleeping with it tonight.
I will post a picture of my new nighttime friend if somebody wants to see it.
Replies
I still sleep with my stuffies too.
I read in a magazine that 60% of men admit to having a stuffed animal that they take with them on trips away from home. So I guess we\'re not the only ones.
Glad you had fun