A nice surprise showed up on our doorstep the other day. The Fed Ex man delivered a box with an absolutely lovely name emblazoned on it: GODIVA – as in chocolates.

It seems my angel of a sister, Sara (who knows her sweet-toothed sibling and brother-in-law all too well), wanted to send us a little &uot;Get Well Soon&uot; care package.

It’s strange how quickly my spirits lifted at the sight of that glossy, ribbon-wrapped box. Lifting it to my stuffy nose, I took a heady breath. I could just catch a whiff of the rich, wonderful stuff right through the sealing material. &uot;Uhmmm…chocolate!&uot;

The package is still sealed as I write this on Thursday (assuming my spouse hasn’t succumbed to its siren charm). Since I don’t eat the really good stuff all that often, I want to slowly savor every little bite.

Being a well-renowned chocoholic, among my Christmas gifts from my sis Deb was a great little perpetual calendar titled &uot;365 Reasons to Eat Chocolate.&uot;

I now have it on my desk at work. I think you find some of these reasons as compelling and chuckle-inducing as I do…as if you really needed an excuse to indulge in the world’s finest food.

During a tornado only very heavy things will not be destroyed. Eat more chocolate.

Liquid calories do not count. Melt the candy bar and drink it.

You worked very hard at some point. Reward yourself now.

Fruits and vegetables take a long time to grow. Chocolate is quick.

There are at least 8 separate steps involved in producing chocolate. Somebody went to a lot of trouble for us.

Pretty soon, you’re going to have to worry about what you look like in a swimsuit. For now, you can still rely on Fluffy sweaters and fudge bars.

Peanuts are a good source of protein. Chocolate-covered peanuts, then, are excellent for vegetarians.

What if you don’t get time for lunch, and begin to feel faint? You might fall down and hurt yourself. Better eat a candy bar now, just in case.

The sweetness of chocolate can counteract the bitterness of daily life.

You can get chocolate and gasoline at any convenient store. Gasoline runs our vehicles and chocolate runs us.

Chocolate has milk in it. Help support the American Dairy Farmer.

When you are having a bad day, a nibble of chocolate will cheer you up. When you are having a really bad day, it may take more. However, if you reach the point where you are drinking chocolate syrup right out of the can…it’s time to go home.