So far 2022 hasn’t lived up to my expectations of being the best year ever. Just kidding on that whole best year thing. I’d be thrilled if 2022 was the most normal year ever or even the most boring.
Boring would be fantastic. I’m one of those people that think boring is extremely underrated. Boring signifies no highs but more importantly no lows. As my mother used to say, “being bored is a luxury so enjoy it.” As a child I didn’t appreciate this statement but after the last 700 plus days I’d enthusiastically embrace a boring, uneventful year.
Maybe I’m into boring because I’m recovering from a February funk. I had a case of the winter doldrums, exacerbated by the Chief’s heart-breaking loss, where I was predicting the highlight of my month would be getting four free covid tests from the government and wondering if they would come with a Valentine’s Day Card. Something like “True love means getting a nasal swab” signed, “Yours forever, Joe Biden.”
But then something magical happened to help propel me out of my funk. I renewed a beloved relationship with a friend who has been a part of my life for four decades and has helped me through some rough times from college midterms to parenting strife.
I haven’t seen this friend since the pre-covid era and we were reacquainted by accident. A neighbor had mentioned that my old pal would soon be available and told me how to get in contact. I whooped with joy and scurried off to the internet to begin the process of being reunited.
Soon, very soon, I told myself I would be seeing one of my besties since childhood – The Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie.
If you’re thinking how can a cookie be a friend I first want to congratulate you on having a healthy relationship with food but I also feel a little bit sorry for you because I can only surmise that for this to happen means you’ve never enjoyed a Thin Mint.
One of the things that makes a friendship with a Thin Mint so special is that it’s not available all the time. You only get to enjoy the companionship for a brief month or two while it’s “in town.”
This is why I, over the years, have learned to stock up on Thin Mints and then hide them from family members. My secret stash is for dark moments when I need the chocolate and peppermint embrace that only a Thin Mint can bring.
When my many boxes of Thin Mints arrived this past week, I quickly went about stripping them down to their silver sleeves (it makes them easier to conceal) and put six in the freezer hidden under a huge Costco container of tortellini that will take us at least until summer to eat. I then cached the rest to various hidey holes.
Unfortunately, my husband spied my freezer treasure trove and was aghast at the volume of Thin Mints I had purchased. I gave him a look that said, “back off” and then confessed that it has been a rough two years and I considered the cookies medicinal.
He laughed and replied, “Just like all the Trader Joe gingerbread cookies were medicinal back in December?”
“No, not ‘just like.’ Those cookies were more of the over the counter medicinal variety. I consider Thin Mints prescription strength.”
I then cradled a sleeve and tightly hugged it. Who knows what the rest of 2022 will bring but at least I’ll have my Thin Mints.
Snarky in the Suburbs 