It started in 2005. The secretary had a bowl of peppermints on her desk and, each time I dropped off a piece of mail or went to see my boss, I'd grab 2 or 3 mints. Oh, how I loved the crunch followed by that burst of mintiness. (I never bothered to suck them; that'd take too long.) It seemed so harmless. Little red and white circles of instant joy. I'd stop by the desk 2, 3, 7 times a day, crunching my way up and down the office halls.
Over time, I started feeling guilty and would buy a bag of peppermints to replenish the secretary's supply. Only Brach's hard peppermint candies would do. Then I started keeping a stash at my desk. That was the beginning of my addiction. I crunched and crunched as soon as I arrived at my desk, just before lunch, right after lunch, 'round 4:00 in the afternoon, and on the way home (from the handful I dumped in my bag before leaving the office for the day).
At least my peppermint addiction was limited to the weekdays, right? In the beginning, yes. But, every Friday afternoon, I'd pour a bunch into my bag just to "keep me" over the weekend. By Friday night, I had depleted my supposed weekend supply and that's when I began trolling for peppermints over the weekend. I came across a one-pound bag of Brach's peppermints at Kroger. I wasn’t a Kroger shopper but it was on the way to work. Convenient.
Things went swimmingly until Kroger stopped carrying Brach's peppermints. No problem. I'm a Publix shopper, so I just added the one-pound bag to my weekly shopping list. A few months later, Brach's peppermints starting disappearing from Publix's shelves. "What is going on?!," I'd ask the stock clerk. I complained to the store manager, the department manager, the cashier– anyone who'd listen. The department manager promised to "look into it" and let me know.
It dawned on me that these grocers had discontinued Brach's to make way for their "private label" peppermints. I dutifully tried each brand. Ab-so-lute waste of money! The Kroger brand was the worst – the taste was not identifiable (the bag read, "real" peppermint oil, but I think not!) and the candy was pink-and-white in color. The Publix brand was OK but bland in comparison to Brach's. Clearly, no one asked me if this was a good idea.
Then the skies opened: I stumbled across a two-pound bag of Brach's peppermints at Wal-Mart. Ha! I bought a bag and kept it in my trunk. Now I had a major stash of peppermints even before arriving at work. I'd pop a few mints in the morning before starting the car, a few more in traffic, grab a handful on the way up to my office. At my desk, I'd resume my daily routine of crunching throughout the day. On my way home, more peppermints. At night, even more.
Did I mention I have an 8-year old kid? "Mommy, you need to stop eating so many peppermints!" "Mom, it's rude for you to crunch! Everyone can hear you!"
Then there was the time I was preparing for a 3-day road trip. As I packed my bags – and crunched on peppermints - I snapped off a large filling. Yep, snapped it right off. I barely smiled during the entire occasion, so worried someone may see my jagged edges.
I've got to kick this thing. I've gained 15 pounds and my teeth are taking a beating.
Hoping you can help.
-PP
