Positivity

There were tears.

Cousins had been playing happily for some time.

They had ranged through the house: upstairs arranging the detailed and extensive Santa’s village; the basement with its vintage western village, playhouse, castle, train and Barbie dolls; the spare room and its Minecraft game.

The hours had passed peacefully as the parents visited.

Then, the tears.

Parent (and grandparent) ears perked up.

Said tears couldn’t be too serious. They were moving—coming up the stairs.

Granddaughter #6 appeared, cradling something. Her face the epitome of woe.

“Gramma?!” she wailed. “It’s broken!”

“What, Sweetheart?”

“This!”

‘This’ proved to be a small, pink bunny, approximately four inches high, made of super-stretchy silicone.

Designed to be overextended and available at the local dollar store four-for-a-dollar.

With all the toys they had at their disposal, the one she was crying over was this inexpensive little bit of—let’s face it—trash?

She handed it to me. “See? The foot broke off!”

It had indeed. Snapped off cleanly, leaving the stump of a leg.

“Were the kids too rough?” I asked, in my sympathetic ‘Gramma’ voice.

“No. I did it myself. I stretched it too ha-ard!” The last word came out as a wail.

“Well, I’m sorry, Sweetheart, but this can’t be fixed.” I handed it back. “You will have to play a bit more carefully.”

Yeah. No real solutions here. I prepared myself for the protest.

She looked down at the poor maimed little toy and sniffed. Then she brightened. “Hey! Now it’s a pirate!” She spun around and started back toward the stairs. “Arrrr—me hearties!” she said as she started down.

Turning stretchy bunnies into—pirates.

It’s true. The power of positive thinking can do anything.