Monday, March 25, 2019

Peanut M&Ms

Today I went to the store for salad mix, and I came out with a "Party Size!" pack of peanut M&Ms. I didn't want them. I don't need them, but there they were, right by the door where I couldn't miss them.

When I was ten, I was selling M&Ms to raise money for a school trip to Camp Tecumseh. My parents would have just given me the money, but all my friends were selling candy, so I wanted to sell candy, too. My grandmother dressed my baby cousin up in his froggie Halloween costume and let me go door-to-door in her neighborhood, toting him next to me for extra cute-factor.

As a kindness to her (who was always doing kindnesses for everybody), my grandmother's neighbors bought a few bags, but we discovered my best customer at the end of my route. When we returned home, we realized that my grandfather had already eaten several bags of the peanut M&Ms! He compensated me for my inventory, and I felt like an expert saleswoman.

Today would have been my grandfather's 80th birthday. He passed away yesterday after a short struggle with cancer. In my adult life, we were not close, but I hope the afterlife is all he ever hoped it would be, and I hope they have peanut M&Ms there.


4 comments:

  1. I like so many things about your post. How you started with the purchase...then share how you sold M&M door to door, then your grandfather's purchase and end with it being his birthday. Glad you could honor him today with a candy purchase and a story!

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  2. Peanut M&Ms always remind me of my grandpa too. I'm so sorry for your loss, and I'm happy you have such sweet memories of him. I can't look at a yellow and brown bag without thinking of mine! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. I love how you were able to remember use the memory of Peanut M&M's to also honor and remember your grandfather

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  4. Great way to use a tiny moment in your day to lead your readers into something much deeper than M&Ms.

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