Creative Transformation

Mr. Cookie Jar

I had a story to write. The topic? Cookie Jar. And as in many fanciful stories, this cookie jar was no ordinary cookie jar. He was quite special so was only taken out of the china cabinet once each year. He was round and had a very smart coat of glossy pumpkin orange with big brown buttons painted down the front, and a lid that was no ordinary lid. The lid was a second glossy round pumpkin with a dark green stem on top.  

His favorite time was Hallowe’en when he was filled with all kinds of cookies - Oatmeal with raisins, shortbread, thumbprint sugar cookies and snicker-doodles with cinnamon sugar. He loved the attention when, after the cookies were all gone, he was put in the middle of the dining room table as part of the Thanksgiving centerpiece. After all of the merry making was over, he was carefully put away until the next year.  

****

Francis was stumped. She wanted to make another centrepiece, but for the Christmas table. Hmmm. Her Christmas budget had been maxed out so she couldn’t just go buy a centrepiece. Clearing the dining room table for the umpteenth time of all the holiday mess, she was about to put away the Hallowe’en cookie jar that she always used for the fall centrepiece.  

‘Why don’t I just leave this centerpiece as it is?  I wouldn’t have to make another one......No, I can’t do that. Orange just wouldn’t be the right colour. I could dress him up. But fall colours aren’t a good match for Christmas colours. How can I make this work? Well, I’ll put the cookie jar away last so I don’t break him.' Addressing the cookie jar as though he could hear her and talk back she said: “What do you think, Mr. Cookie Jar? Can you give me any ideas?”

If Mr. Cookie Jar could have answered or even shaken his head, he wouldn’t have had any idea but just to leave him where he sat.

Francis had her sewing machine out as usual when she made the Hallowe’en costumes, and kept it at the ready. She had planned to sew some red, green and gold plaid place mats for her Christmas dinner table setting. Only her husband, their two children and one cousin would be together this year. Francis had finished cutting out all the pieces for the place mats.There was a long strip of the red, green and gold plaid material left. She was about to throw it in the trash she had collected but stopped, looked at Mr. Cookie Jar, looked at the long scrap of cloth, looked at Mr. Cookie Jar again and then wrapped the strip of cloth around his neck. Then she picked up a candy cane and propped it against him. Putting the scraps and candy canes down, Francis went to her children’s toy trunk and after rummaging around, came out with her prize. A tiny black top hat with a wide gold band!  

“Well, Mr. Cookie Jar, you’re not getting put away just yet. Hope you don’t mind. I have plans for you.” Francis moved him to a clear space on the sewing table and measured around his tummy and from the top of his green curved stem to his flat bottom that sat securely on the table. She sewed and trimmed and measured and finally put the quickly fashioned scarf around his neck.  His neck was only a thin space between his round head and his little round belly.  It still didn’t look quite right.  

“Mr. Cookie Jar, what am I going to do with all that orange!” Gazing outside, where there was absolutely no snow, she had to look past the sprayed on snow flakes she and the children had put on the windows, while she munched on a gingerbread man decorated like a snow man.

“Come on with me, Mr. Cookie Jar.  We’re going outside.” Francis carefully sat the cookie jar on the wide ledge of the balcony and, after shaking the noisy can of false snow she sprayed the white stuff all over him. The transformation was miraculous.  

Francis gave a satisfied sigh but was not quite finished. Carefully carrying the now white cookie jar into the house, she placed him back on his silver tray, removed the dried maple leaves and branches from the fall centerpiece and replaced them with Christmas greenery and holly berries.  

The top hat was next.  It just fit over his stem, and had to sit at quite a jaunty angle because of the curve of the stem.  Mr. Cookie Jar had been transformed from a cookie jar that looked like he's just stepped out of a pumpkin patch to a sparkly snow man with a beautiful new Christmas scarf wrapped around him. His eyes, nose and mouth and buttons clean from ‘snow’. Candy canes were placed among the holly, with one leaned up against him.

*****

After all of the Christmas and New Year festivities were over it was time to clean off the dining room table again. Mr. Cookie Jar was taken to the kitchen sink and given a  bath. All of the white was washed off of him and his glossy orange coat was polished to a bright shine. As Francis placed the cookie jar back in the china cabinet behind china plates, cups and crystal, she said “Thank you Mr. Cookie Jar. Maybe we’ll do this again next year.”

“Transformation literally means

going beyond your form.”

~ Wayne Dyer