THE ADVENTURES OF COZEMAN
Episode 2, December 2008
GINGERBREAD COZY
It was the week before Christmas and the Nuggets were decorating Nuggetville,
under Cozy's directions of course. "Don't forget to lay my chewy next to my bed," Cozy reminded. His
‘chewy' was what he called any stuffed toy that happened to be his favourite at the time. This week, it was a tiny
stuffed white Teddy Bear that looked a lot like a certain Bichon dog whom the Nuggets all loved.
"Oh yeh! Cozy ... go get your Chewy!" yelled Clay as he
threw the Teddy up the stairs for Cozy to chase. Cozy tore off up the stairs as if his life depended on it adding a little
growl for dramatic effect. Once the Chewy was captured between his teeth ... he'd shake it fiercely and growl even more
to let everyone know that he had won the battle and was the ‘Ruler of all Chewies!!!!". The Nuggets, watching
this battle, would laugh so hard (right from their bellies) ... chase Cozeman ... and start the process all over again until
Cozy was tired out. Then, he would retreat to his ‘cozy' little bed next to the television (bringing his Chewy,
of course), and flop over onto his back indicating that it was time for his next belly rub session. As always, at least one
Nugget would provide a hand or 2 for this service.
"Gail!" Emma said laughing, "Listen! Whenever I stop rubbing Cozeman's belly he looks at me with
a soft little growl!" Sure enough ... every time Emma lifted her hand away from that fluffy little belly, Cozy would
raise his head from its' dreamy, laid-back position and look at her with a disgusted gentle growl. What a hoot! "Oh,
Cozeman ... my arm is getting tired!"
Brooke asked, "Hey Cozeman, when are we going to bake our giant Gingerbread Men like we do every year? Cozeman
... COZEMAN!" (Cozy would always be in a dream-like state when his belly was being rubbed making his attention span
very, very small indeed). "Wha? Oh yes ... the Annual Giant Gingerbread Man Decorating Party! I almost forgot, what
with my battle and all! Thank goodness Superheros like me still have time for baking!" replied Cozy, "Let's
get down to business!" "Yay!" said Brooke, "Everybody wash their hands! Gail, can you put on some Christmas
Music please?" Brooke had a real ear for music and always loved having it play while they baked. She could sing word
for word pretty much any Country song that played on the radio.
So after the Nuggets washed up, Cozeman made a few suggestions: how to prepare the round Nugget table,
the choosing of sprinkles, icing colours (all suggestions given while sneaking in a little snack). Kyra and Jena began to
make the gingerbread dough (themselves sneaking little samples of the gingery dough whenever they thought no one was looking).
They shaped 7 huge gingerbread men about 12 inches long with the yummy dough, and could only bake 4 at a time because that
was all the oven could hold! "Oh man ... I'm gonna be the first to bite into my Gingerbread Dude!" commented
Chad. "Well mine is going to be the best looking, Chadmeister!" said Jena. Those 2 (being the same age) always
friendly rivals, enjoying every minute of their competitions.
The warm, spicy smell of gingerbread baking in the oven filled every nook of Nuggetville. Even Cozy
lifted his little black nose in the air as if lifting it would give him extra smelling powers (superheros are like that).
Brooke walked over to the oven door to look in at the 4 brown bodies as they swelled in the heat, making them look even more
delicious! Then, as always, she sat down on the floor in front of the oven with her back to the warm oven door, "aaah
... this feels so good on my back." "Let me try!" said Emma, joining her at the cozy spot where all Nugget
baking took place.
"I'll
get the icing started," said Kyra. Now Kyra had been a Nugget since she was 2 years old and she knew her way around
the Nugget kitchen better than anybody. Now that she was 10, she could even reach the high cupboards where the icing was
stored ... just as good as Gail! "Cozeman, which sprinkles did you say we should put on the round table?"
"I say ALL OF THEM!!", laughed Cozy.
"Yay!!!" yelled the Nuggets. "Let's put everything we have on these cookies, they'll be the best
ones ever and I'm going to give mine to my Mom & Bobby!" said Clay. "Sure Clay, you'll probably eat
all the sprinkles before you even put them on your cookie! And we can't put EVERYTHING on the cookies ... not spinach!"
commented Emma. Now Clay and Emma (being close in age and both highly intelligent) also have an ongoing friendly rivalry
... it's quite cute actually. "I will not! You'll see, I'll wrap it up and my Mom will love it to death!"
replied Clay, "and I meant everything that is sweet and belongs on cookies ... jeesh Emma!"
About ½ hour later: "OK everyone, the gingerbread men
are cooled and on the round table! Sprinkles, icing, candies ... everything is in its' own banana dish for us to share.
We each have a placemat and our own area for decorating," said Jena, "Cozeman, would you like me to decorate yours?"
"Well thank you my dear, yes. I hate it when the icing gets in my fur and the sprinkles stick to my paws. It makes
a little crunching sound when I walk around too that kind of gets on my nerves," said Cozeman.
Chad in his usual fashion, made sure he grabbed his cookie first.
And so began the decorating. There was blue, yellow, red, green and white icing. There were red sprinkles, multi-coloured
sprinkles, tiny little silver balls that would roll off the round table if you didn't grab them quick, chocolate chips,
candy canes, gummie bears, M&Ms, sprinkled chocolate drops ... and lots of it. Some decorations even made it to the
cookies, while some mysteriously made a detour into Nugget mouths. The Nuggets each shared their own stories of Christmases
gone by ... some at Nuggetville ... some not, as they carefully designed their own work of art. You could see the peace and
joy in each Child's face as they worked. You could tell that they wanted their cookie to be very special, that it was
important to them. As Cozy watched them from the kitchen floor with the soft Christmas music in the background, he was filled
with joy in his heart. He knew how lucky he was to have these wonderful Nuggets as his friends and he thought, "this
is the best Christmas Present ever."
It's
funny how some traditions are never forgotten, and how Childhood memories can stay with us forever. How the smell of gingerbread
can send you to a place where you feel warm, loved and secure. Cozy was amazed as he listened to their stories, at how much
each Child remembered about their Christmases gone by. And what they loved most about this Season: they weren't talking
about gifts ... they were talking about feelings, making snowmen, being with Family ... and baking cookies.
A few hours later when the decorating was done, all the Nuggets helped
clean up and then individually wrapped their giant Gingerbread Men to take home. They were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! And as
they each took turns showing Cozeman their creation, he could see how proud they were. And he was so proud of them. "You
guys did such a good job and Jena, thank you so much for putting my favourite dog food on my cookie! I'm going to gobble
mine up right after ... you know what? ..."
"Belly rubs!!" they all cried. And once again, Cozy flopped on his back, opened up all 4 legs, and let
the Nuggets rub his fluffy, white little belly.
"Aaah, this is the life! Um ... a little more to the left please?"
Cozeman would like to wish all of his Readers a
peaceful and warm Holiday Season regardless of their religion. He believes we are all Brothers and Sisters here on earth
... and hopes we spread kindness not just during the Holidays, but every day. A smile is like a belly rub: it feels good
giving one and receiving one!
Oxo
Cozeman
