a peppermint in February

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I found this little peppermint inkthing today
and considered waiting almost a whole year to post it
just so that it would fall into the Christmas theme.

Perhaps an alternate version of me would have waited.

At least until July! Just to make it fit in some way with the world around me.

But instead today I say:

enjoy this untimely drawing of a peppermint at the end of February!

I used to think that holding on to things and “saving” things was a virtue and, in some ways, yes that’s true!

Now I’m not so sure that’s the only answer though.

Here’s another candy themed example of what I mean:

I used to save my Halloween candy religiously.
I’d carefully count it and portion it out.
Stash it in the closet and then eat it all year round.

My parents were so proud of me for saving my precious candy.

They praised me.

But what they failed to see
was how saving in this way came from a place of deep insecurity.

Of not knowing when would be the next time I got any more candy.
How long that could be!

Of spreading out calories.

I’ll tell you something else about candy kept in the closet.

I’ll tell you that about a month into it
that candy starts to go stale.

That special piece of chocolate I was saving for some special day or occasion would have been softer and tasted sweeter had I

immediately enjoyed the thing.

What a counter-intuitive lesson to learn.

But in a space like this that’s bound by time,
maybe it’s better to enjoy a good thing
while it’s fresh and while you have it.

It’s better not to let things go stale or rot.

So here’s some fresh candy for you.

A peppermint in February.

I hope you enjoy!

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