Mr. Jolly Left Me A Note!

When I came downstairs this morning to have breakfast I found a note on my chair.  It was marked "confidential and for Linda's eyes only!" Hmmmmm...... Who could this be from?

The "dollies" have been leaving me notes from time to time over the years so I thought it was from one of them.  They think they're human and can be very temperamental from time to time - especially at the holiday season.  So, I opened the note figuring I would recognize one of the "dollies" handwriting.

To my surprise the handwriting was beautifully written in cursive which the "dollies" don't know how to do and, therefore, a mystery to me as to who wrote it.  So, I read the note.

It said:

To my dearest Linda, 

I want you to be aware of a situation that I don't think you are aware of and which is causing someone much consternation.

Hmmmm...... I thought, who talks like that.  None of the "dollies" that I was aware of. Hmmm....

So, I continued reading.

When I came downstairs this morning I heard muffled sounds of sobbing - like someone was crying and trying not to let themselves be heard.  So, I walked in the direction of the noise and noticed a pile of tissues on the ground in front of a little "doggie" that you had placed under the pencil Christmas tree late last night.

I asked the pencil tree what was going on.  He had no idea.  When he woke up this morning she was there and had been crying all morning.

When the little "doggie" caught sight of me she quickly stopped crying, picked up all her tissues, and hid inside her Santa bag.

So, I walked over to her and asked her why she was crying.

She responded, "This is such a wonderful house with all the dollies, Theo, the Nutcrackers, the pencil tree and you, Mr. Jolly, but, I don't seem to fit in.  No one has come to greet me and I don't even have a name. I know Linda always names the newest addition to the holiday decorating household and the "dollies" are always there to welcome them. Linda just placed me here last night and then nothing happened. No greeting, no dollies, nothing. I think she hates me and is going to return me to where I came from."

She started crying again so I gave her another box of tissues. 

I thought about what she had said and have to tell you what happened to her just wasn't right.  You always name the newest addition and then introduce them to our holiday family and to everyone else.  Plus, there isn't a "dollie" on earth let alone a "doggie" that you haven't loved.  It is so unlike you I thought that it surely has to be an oversight. You just would not be this mean. 

So, I decided to write you this note in the hopes that you would rectify this situation.  We can't have little "doggie's" crying - especially at the holidays. It's just not right. In fact, it's downright inhumane.

Sincerely,
Mr. Jolly

After reading the note I was embarrassed and mortified that I had caused the little "doggie" such distress.  That is not something I would ever knowingly do.  Especially to a little "doggie" at anytime of the year.  Given that I love every "dollie" I've ever seen when I do bring one home it's because it's extremely special.

So, I went over to the little "doggie" and picked her up apologizing profusely to her as I was giving her big hugs and kisses.  When she stopped crying I told her that not introducing her to everyone else was truly an oversight on my part.  I had brought her home so late last night and was so exhausted that I placed her under the pencil tree and went straight to bed.  Plus, it was way too late to introduce her to all the "dollies" and everyone else as they were all sleeping soundly in their beds and the pencil tree was snoring so loudly I knew there was no waking him.

I asked her to please, please, please forgive me which she did by licking my face over and over and over again.  She was licking me so much I thought my face would break out in a rash.

I told her I had decided to call her "Penny" the minute I saw her as I thought it was adorable, like her, and would fit her perfectly.  She was so happy and so pleased with the name that she started licking my face over and over and over once again. I had to stop her at this point because  I knew for sure my face was going to break out if this continued.

When I put her down I saw that the family room was filling up with Theo, the pencil tree, Mr. Jolly,  the nutcrackers, and all the "dollies."

The "dollies" seemed to be  annoyed and were running straight at us.  They all seemed to be muffling something under their breath but I couldn't make it out.  I was afraid they were going to stampede me and that not only would I get hurt but Penny would as well.

So, I picked her up and put her on my shoulders and shouted, "Everyone stop running before someone gets hurt."  With this they stopped short causing a cascading effect with several of the "dollie's" in the middle and back tumbling forward. Penny and I had to jump out of the way or we would have been knocked over as well.

When everyone was helped to their feet I continued, "I don't know what you've been mumbling under your breath and why you're all rushing at me but I'd like to introduce you to Penny - the newest addition to our holiday decorating household."

"She's just the cutest "peek-a-boo" little "doggie" you've ever seen. She just wants to spread joy and Christmas cheer where ever she goes. Plus she's got the most infectious laugh which is totally irresistible. I knew the minute I saw her that she would be a perfect addition to our household and hope you all would agree."

You never know how the "dollies" will react to anything as some can be quite persnickety.  To my delight it was so quiet in the family room that you could hear a pin drop.  I figured they must have thought I was going to return the little "doggie" and were determined to give me their piece of mind as well as prevent me from doing that.  They were going to defend her no matter what the consequences would be for them.

Penny realized this as well and was deeply touched.  Everyone was thrilled to see Penny and welcomed her into the household with open arms.  They started jumping up and down, hugging each other and hugging Penny.

Penny was smiling, Theo was smiling, the pencil tree was trying to smile, the nutcrackers were smiling, ALL the "dollies" had huge grins on their faces, and Mr. Jolly had the  most pleased expression on his face.  It was quite a joyous event.

It took quite a while to introduce Penny to every one but by the time we finished it was standing room only in the kitchen and family room. Everyone was so happy.  Penny's laugh was so infectious that everyone in the room was laughing and laughing and laughing.

Soon everyone was laughing so hard there were tears flowing down everyone's cheeks. There were so many tears of joy I knew I had to get several boxes of tissues before we had a flood in the house.  It was quite an amazing scene to say the least.

As I was trying to make my way to the bathroom to get tissues for everyone I saw that Mr. Jolly was signaling me.  When I got close enough to him he gave me a big hug and told me that Penny was a wonderful addition to our family and he would keep a watchful eye out for her and save a special place for her under the pencil tree.

I thanked him for that and for writing his note and told him he had the best "cursive" penmanship I had ever seen.  That brought a huge smile to his face and the deepest belly laugh I had ever heard.  He told me that with hundreds if not thousands of years of practice writing "naughty and nice" lists it's no surprise that he would be an expert at it.  I definitely agreed.

I was still mortified that I had caused distress to Penny but relieved that another potential holiday situation had been resolved.

And, with that our 2018 Christmas season officially began with the sounds of a little "doggies" infectious laugh and a note from Mr. Jolly.