West's Surprise Visitor: The Agony and Ecstasy

First the Ecstasy:
I've had a secret and I've just about had to tape my mouth shut to keep from blabbing it to you. I made it without spilling the beans, so now I'm pouring them out fast. My little charge West, the one who just this summer won a cool thousand dollars in the Nestle Push-up contest, is officially a finalist in the JIF MOST CREATIVE PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH CONTEST. The prize is a chance to compete for a $25,000 scholarship in NYC in March. Can you imagine how happy we would be to have a $25,000 scholarship fund sitting around for the future Dr. West? But for now, there are ten finalists that will be narrowed down to five in a voting process. The voting period runs from noon on January 14th-February 10th. (CLICK HERE.) It takes only a second to register. All they need is your name, email and birthdate to make sure you over the age of 13. That's it. Be sure to vote for West's MORE ROCKIN' MOROCCAN PEANUTTY PITAS. Anyone over can vote daily. Thank you so much for your support for West! Look, he's even managing to smile in a peanut buttery kind of way. Now for the agony in three parts:
First: Jif sent a camera crew to our house after Christmas to casually film West preparing his recipe. West, as my loyal readers know, is iffy about attention. Sometimes he is vivacious, talkative, and playful. Other times he is timid, quiet, and scared. Unfortunately, it was a clam-shell hermit kind of day for West. He got through it barely, but he almost curled up and tucked himself into a kitchen drawer to hide for a few days. If they wanted personality and charisma, they'll have to come back another day...or in another decade.
Second: The summer Nestle Push Up contest that West won included a $2500 donation to a local school. West chose our favorite charter school, and they had an assembly honoring him this week. Although he enjoyed it later, while it was happening he wished he was in Des Moines, Iowa or even Death Valley, California, or in some remote corner of Antartica. The attention, gratitude and cheers were more painful than a root canal. Here he is hiding behind the giant Thank you card the first graders made him.
Third: All of the accolades for West have been particularly trying for his sister. Sailor has entered all of the same contests as West, with no luck as of yet. Is West destined to lead a charmed life? I'm hoping that every dog has his day. In the meantime, Sailor is being schooled in the principle of being happy for others, even siblings. I hope she can at least pass with a C minus. Would this make you jealous?
West's body language says it all.It should make Sailor feel better to know that West would gladly have done without the honors.
Isn't life a comedy? Thanks for laughing and voting along with me.
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