The Power of Thin Mints

 

There is something undeniably powerful about a Girl Scout cookie thin mint.  Today I saw a nurse’s assistant come into the 6th floor work area with an armful of those lovely green boxes and I made comment about how much I love them.  She offered to sell me a box from her limited supply but when I told her I had no way to pay her she said I could pay for it when I see her next. 

That’s when the Nurse Manager swept in and bought a box for me despite my protestations.  It was an act of kindness that I wasn’t sure I deserved and it made me a bit verklempt.  It  became clear to me in that moment that I would be remiss if I did not share this windfall with others in this place that has been so good to me over the years.

I quickly took on the role of a thin mint street dealer by hiding the box in my inside jacket pocket and sidling up to people with a whisper, “Hey, you wanna thin mint?” and giving them only the slightest glimpse of the green box.  The smiles were worth a lifetime supply of thin mints and by the time I was headed out the door for the day I’d eaten about four and given the rest away.

To be honest, I don’t know what came over me when I was handed that box of cookies.  My inclination was to hurry back to my office and eat them in the dark like Gollum on his island in the cave with his “Precious”.  But there are few things more precious to me than my coworkers at Grant Medical Center.

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