Part Dutch

Every year, on December 5, little Dutch children put their wooden shoes next to their fireplaces in the hopes that Sinterklaas will visit them and leave them treats and a little present in their shoes.

This little Dutch girl forgot this year.

I cannot believe I did that.

I blame it on my dentist.

See, I had to have some cavities fixed. Not filled, because at one time they were already filled. They have just worn down, kinda like the tires on our car, and needed to be replaced.

Anyways, I went and had them replaced and for, like, a few hours I was numb. I forget what day that was, but that's beside the point.

My teeth still hurt, dude. I can't chew on my right side.

Ice and salsa are especially cruel.

What does all this have to do with December 5 and the placement of shoes near our fireplace?

I'm getting there, in fact, I'm there.

My parents live in another state.

Dutch treats are hard to come by in these parts.

Dentists take all your money and give you fake teeth in return.

Now here's the fun part.

My ma and pa came for a visit. A blissfully long, almost a whole week, visit. And do you know that when they come, they always come bearing gifts? They're like my own personal Sinterklassessess.

They brought toys for the kids, an air compressor for Miguel and Speculaas and peppermints for me.

Hmmmm?

What the heck are those treats, you ask?

 I'll show you...

You'll just have to trust me when I say that those cookies are the best cookies ever made. On the planet. Ever. They're like, almond, and gingerbread, and yummy, and really good.

And the peppermints are better than Mentos, Altoids, Certs, TicTacs, and any other minty mint you can name.

They're pretty much amazing.

Only, there's a little problem.

I'm worried that they aren't 100% Dutch.

As I was gazing lovingly at my roll of peppermints, I noticed some Spanish writing on the packaging.

Then I got to looking a little closer at the label.

Turns out, they were imported by a company in New York.

Welllllll, that's north of Florida where a lot of people from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic immigrate to and they all speak Spanish, and my grandparents immigrated from Holland when my dad was 5 and they landed at Ellis Island which is in New York, so by the simple rules of logic, the mints must be 100% Dutch, right?

Almost Dutch?

OK. I'll take it.