Week 3.19: Bright Story

Week 3.19: Bright Story is inspired by my rough week...because I need a Bright Story today. And this coming Sunday we will all experience the Brightest Story of All.

I think this time of year just keeps getting more stressful in a lot of ways...but there is also that Bright Story underneath...

Last year on the darkest day of the year (literally), I started my "new" job. It's been a year stuffed to the gills with change on almost every level. But even on the darkest day of the year, there was a ray of light.

One of my rays of light is my step-daughter. She came home with a terrible, torturous assignment that made my heart dance: Write a story using a list of vocabulary words. I did this a couple of years ago for a friend's birthday.

Here goes again:

"Such a lovely Holiday evening," Mister Gingerbread thought to himself. As he gazed out the window and saw the Snowman his children made earlier that day, he contemplated what a lucky man he was. Carols playing on the wi-fi, Icicles forming on the eaves, and Gingerbread children tucked into their snug little beds. His Reindeer slippers warmed his toes while he sipped his Eggnog in the wing-back chair near the Hearth. Flanked with Poinsettias and laden with Boughs, he couldn't believe what a beautiful setting surrounded him. Watching the firelight flicker and smoke curl up the Chimney, he nearly dozed off. Coming to in a start, he realized he was staring at the bottom of his empty mug.

Sighing he shoved himself to his feet. There was work to be done! Stockings to fill and the children were listening for Sleigh Bells in the air. Heading toward the hallway he passed the fresh pine wreath hanging on the wall. What a wonderful smell!

With firelight flickering off the Ornaments used to Decorate the Evergreen, he decided Missus Gingerbread needed to meet him under the Mistletoe before they did the work of the Elves. Peace reigned supreme in the Gingerbread home. A new determination filled his steps as he headed off to find his lovely wife.

The End.

Here are the vocabulary words my stepdaughter was given:
Gingerbread, Carols, Peace, Reindeer, Mistletoe, Snowman, Evergreen, Wreath, Stockings, Sleigh Bells, Poinsettias, Holiday, Icicle, Elves, Decorate, Chimney, Eggnog, Ornaments, Hearth, and Boughs.