MISSING CANDY CANE

 

Colored lights, Santa Claus and his reindeer, holiday music floating in the air…

look around and you’ll see there are signs of Christmas everywhere.

It’s streaming on our TV’s, playing on our radios…it’s on every child’s face.

and this year I discovered a new sign…in the most unlikely place.

After Ollie and Abby (their little ones) awoke from their afternoon nap

Kayla and Joe (our neighbors) took them to see Santa…so they could sit upon his lap.

When Ollie finished with with his list he gave Santa’s beard a tug…

Santa smiled, handed Ollie a candy cane which he licked…

then ran and gave his mom a hug.

It was one of those precious moments upon which future memories will be drawn

but soon after they left Santa they realized Ollie’s candy cane was gone!

They searched high and low even even going back to check the ground…

but the candy cane that Santa gave to Ollie was nowhere to be found.

This family is resilient, however, and they continued on their way

determined not to let one lost candy cane spoil their beautiful day.

And what a beautiful day it was..so many places they visited…so many wonders they did see…

celebrating the Christmas season together as a family.

Hours later when they were home…with music still wafting through the air

Kayla for the first time noticed…there was something in her hair.

She pulled out Ollie’s missing candy cane and thought to herself…this is crazy… 

then immediately filled with dread.

All those places she went…all those people she saw and no one…

not even her family…noticed…Ollie’s candy cane sticking to her head?

It’s a story they’ll remember…a memory I’m sure they’ll tap

long after their children are too old to sit on Santa’s lap.

And for me…as Christmas Day’s approaches 

when those first notes of Christmas music fill the air…

along with Santa and his reindeer I’ll be keeping track of all the candy canes

I see stuck in Mommy’s hair.