Growing Pains

As I was scanning the grocery aisles for something colorful and tasty that would satisfy the parameters of the established office food day, a packaged item caught my eye. It was neither candy nor food, but labeled with a sticker that indicated it should be. The item of distraction was titled Magic Grow Creatures. Could it be?! Are these magical dinosaurs from Taiwan the same special creatures that I was once entertained by in my childhood? After seeing the statement, “Grows 400%,” I knew that I couldn’t pass up the purchase.

I was so excited about distributing these unusual items of pink, green, yellow, and blue amusement that I almost didn’t notice the additional packaging statement, “Use over and over!” Turns out these magical extinct miniatures weren’t exactly the same as those from my past that exhibited one-time expansion. Even better, I thought. As my mind started thinking of all the practical jokes that I could implement with these toys made for people age four and older, I turned the package over to review the ingredients that might explain the “magic” behind the reusable feature. Huh. No ingredients were listed. No fairy dust or cancer-causing agents...nothing! Nevertheless, THIS was going to make a routine office food day memorable.

The eight dinosaurs were distributed within minutes. And some of the recipients took to the “Just drop in water…Watch them grow” instructions immediately. Warm water and a few hours would supposedly result in magic. So, after some warm water from the coffee maker and a few hours of observation, I am not sure the result was as expected. The anticipation definitely surpassed the actual Ta-da moment. Regardless of wondering if things would have turned out differently had the product been made in China, the experience proved satisfying.

Even though I was expecting to witness something a little more intense, I was happy to see the anticipation and excitement that surfaced from these Magic Grow Creatures’ potential. Maybe that was the magic? I guess, in the right conditions, we can all grow to meet our potential.