If I were in a Hallmark Christmas Movie...

I'd save my home, fall in love with hope and believe in magic once again all in 90 minutes!

When I was growing up in the 1980s, the television was my third parent.  I became a disciple of the theology of 30-60 minute resolution that would take place on the TV screen that I would sit far to close to.  

Regardless of the tribulations the characters on my favorite shows (Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Three's Company, etc.) would face, everything would work out by the time the credits ran.   One of the cruelest lessons that adulthood has taught me is that my real-life problems can't be so easily solved by a clever montage or an appearance by Mr. T.      

And now, I have reached a cliffhanger crossroads in my life and I can't tell if it's just going to be a series finale - or if I am being canceled altogether.  It's a situation that created the most complex of knots that I wish would be loosened with a laugh track playing in the background.   I imagine this is why I have fallen in love with Hallmark movies lately.  

Yes, they contain more cheese than the entire state of Wisconsin, but there remains something comforting in the formula of these sorts of films.   

In fact, as the weight of the world begins to pin me down further into the soil - I have found myself imagining "what if" my life were a Hallmark movie.   

As I face my own challenges, not unlike those of Derek Rudolph in my imagined Hallmark Christmas tale, I can't help but draw parallels. Derek, managing a struggling Reindeer farm in the picturesque town of Snowhaven, mirrors my own struggles in ways I never anticipated. 

Just like him, I find myself at a crossroads, where the magic of the holiday season and the harsh realities of life intertwine. In this story, I see not just Derek's journey, but also a reflection of my own, filled with hopes, challenges, and a search for that elusive holiday miracle. 

It would look like this if I were in a Hallmark Christmas Movie:

1) My name would be Derek Rudroph.

2) I would be handsome and have an inclination to keep my shirt half-buttoned at all times so everyone can catch a glimpse of my granite-hard upper chest.

3) I would be tall enough to string some bright garland on the staircase banister in the rustic farmhouse where I have lived since I was a child.But not too tall that I can't stand under the mistletoe to receive a smooch from a pair of gingerbread-scented lips.

4) I would manage a struggling Reindeer farm alongside my sweet elderly mom in a small lake town in Michigan called "Snowhaven".

5) It would be a job that I inherited from my father who passed away last Spring.

6) Our family's reindeer farm would be called "Rudrophs Reindeers" and is considered one of the legacy businesses in Snowhaven. It's a tourist destination for any of those who want to believe in the magic of the holiday season.

7) A week before Christmas a lovely red-haired lady would show up from the big city as a representative from the bank to tell me that if we don't pay our back mortgage by Christmas morning then our reindeer farm will close.

8) It would turn out that the red-haired lady was someone I had a crush on in High School. We briefly (and intensely) dated before she left for college.

9) Her name is Stacy Sledd and she will feel really bad about being the one to tell me the bad news.

10) "I am sorry Derek, this isn't personal, this is just business," Stacy will tell me as she hands me the foreclosure paperwork while standing on the front porch of our farmhouse.

11) She would be very no-nonsense.

12) She would be very practical.

13) Stacy would, of course, be very career-minded.

14) She would be so lovely. The snow would fall all around her - giving her an ethereal glow. It would be the first real serious snowfall of the season. It would mark the beginning of the most miraculous time of year.  

"It wasn't supposed to snow today," Stacy would say confused as the flakes swirled around us.  Magic would be everywhere.  I would feel the chemistry between us kick up all over again.   However, I wouldn't have the time to focus on any of that.  

15) "You can't take this away from my family, from this town," I'd say somberly while staring at the paperwork. "Rudrophs' Reindeers" is what brings all the tourists to Winterhaven. Without this place, our town - your hometown, will fade away.”

16) Stacy would shake her head. "It's not personal, Derek, this is just business."

17) I would decide that I need to remind my former crush about how incredible my reindeer farm is. If I could reintroduce her to the magic of this place she would go back to her bosses and tell them to reverse their decision to foreclosure on us.

18) I would show her around our reindeer farm so she could watch all of the children playing with the animals.  I would draw Stacy's attention to the middle of the reindeer corral where an old-time lightpost is standing. The light from the lamp would be flickering  "As long as that light is on - there will be magic here.  Stacy would respond with an endearing little sigh.  

19) "Look over there!" I'd point at our family's old barn that we convert into a North Pole workshop/residence every single holiday season.

20) I'll point out my quirky older brother, Ernie who is dressed as Santa.

21) There would be a line of families waiting for their moment with Mr. Clause. All of the children would have such excited expressions on their faces.

22) Eventually, I would see a sliver of a smile form on the edges of Stacy’s plump lips.

23) "There is so much magic here, " I'd tell Stacy.

24) She would understand what I mean instantly because this was the place she used to work years ago before she moved to the big city to pursue her vocation.

25) She would suddenly snap out of it. Her smile would disappear and she'd clear her voice. She would have a job to do, after all.

26) "I know Derek, but maybe it's time to stop believing in magic. Maybe it's time for you to grow up." She would offer.

27) Her words would cut through me like hot cocoa on an ice cube. "When did you get so cold," I'd ask her.

28) "The world is cold," Stacy would reply.

29) I would see the conflict in her eyes.

30) I would feel the hesitation in her voice.

31) I would feel the crazy romantic energy rising between us.

32) Suddenly, a feeling of relief would wash over me. A sense of destiny overcomes the moment.

33) I would remember that I was in a Hallmark movie.

34) "Everything will work out," I would say to her.

35) "How can you possibly know that?" she would ask.

36) "Because I still believe in the magic," I'd say with my dashing smirk.

37) Stacy would roll her eyes so loud that I could hear her pupils crack against your skull like marbles. "You have one week! And Santa isn’t just going to show up with a bag for of cash for you to avoid foreclosure!" she would yell in frustration as she walked to her car.

38) A moment later Stacy would slip on a nasty patch of ice and fall to the ground.

39) Hard.

40) I would rush to help her.

41) "Are you okay?" I'd ask Stacy as I slid down next to her.

42) "I hurt my ankle." she would bemoan.

43) "Let me take a look at that," I'd offer. After all, I am also a paramedic. Which, would be true. I would also be a certified chef, fireman and lumberjack.

44) A few moments later I would be tenderly wrapping up her swollen ankle at my rustic kitchen table.

45) "Well, there is no you can drive back to the big city until the swelling goes down," I'd advise.

46) "I have to get out before the winter storm sets in!  I have a big meeting next week that will determine if I get a promotion or not!"

47) "I'm afraid it's too late anyway, dear," my sweet grey-haired mother would say as she peeks her head into the kitchen.

48) My mom would point to the window. Fat snowflakes would be falling. The wind would be whipping. Snowhaven would be getting snowed in.  

49) "The roads are already closed," my sweet mother would say before disappearing behind the door.

50) Stacy would sigh and start to cry."What am I going to do, Derek?! She would ask helplessly.

51) "You can stay here," I'd tell Stacy. "You are here for a reason."

52) Our eyes would meet. We'd both know what is going to happen next.

53) She is going to stay at my reindeer farm for a week.

54) As her ankle heals, and the snow falls, she would be reminded of the importance of our reindeer farm.

55) This would all be explained in a lovely montage.

56) There would be a particularly lovely moment one night when Stacy would help me feed all of the reindeer.

57) One of my frisky reindeer named “Yuletide” would steal her scarf and start running around the corral with it in his mouth.

58) The two of us would try to grab the scarf from Yuletide but we'd trip and fall in a pile of snow. Our legs would become entangled. A moment later, Yuletide would be standing over us with a bit of mistletoe in his teeth.  

Our lips would be a single centimeter apart. I would smell gingerbread on her puckering lips. We wouldn't kiss just yet. But it would foreshadow a juicy one later.

59) We both know what would be happening to us: We are falling in love inside of a Hallmark movie.

60) Stacy and I would come up with a plan to save our family home and business.

61) That plan would probably involve some sort of big fundraising Christmas Eve concert or parade or something like that.

62) We would work hard to pull off the fundraiser.

63) Of course, something would go wrong during our Christmas Eve event. Despite our best efforts, calamity would strike. Maybe, my quirky brother Ed would accidently forget to start the livestream for people to donate. Maybe Yuletide would knock over our generator and the concert would lose power.

The old-fashioned light pole in the middle of the reindeer corral would flicker and then turn off.  

64) The bank would call in to say that we didn't earn enough money to save the business.

65) Stacy would plead with her boss to not foreclose on my reindeer farm. “There is magic here,” she'd say.

66) Stacy’s bosses would tell her to “grow up and to quit believing in magic.” They command her to go back to the big city if she wants to get her promotion.

67) The snow would start to fall. All would seem lost. But I'd remain confident that everything will work out.

68) Stacy would ask me how I can have faith that the reindeer farm can be saved.  "The lamp went out," she'd say with tears freezing on her blushing cheeks.  "You told me that as long as the light stayed on there would be magic here."

69) “Because maybe this isn’t about saving “Rudolf’s Reindeers” - maybe this is about teaching you to believe in magic again.  Maybe this is about us falling in love again.  If that’s the case, then mission accomplished, I’d whisper in her ear.

70) Then(out of nowhere!) the real Santa would come and ask to borrow Yuletide the reindeer for his yearly pilgrimage. One of his reindeer apparently would "have a flat." I wouldn't quite know what a reindeer "having a flat" would mean - and neither would the audience - but nobody would care.

71) Santa, who is surprisingly very rich, would pull out a briefcase stuffed with cash to offer top dollar to rent my animal to help him pull his sleigh across the world. It would turn out to be the exact amount of money I needed to pay the bank.

Stacy’s jaw would drop. “I guess Santa is going to show up with a stack of money to help you…” she would mumble in astonishment.

72) The lamp in the middle of the corral would blaze to life again. Stacy would believe in magic again. 

73) I would have satisfied the bank while helping the love of my life see there is more to life than just money and career.   She would have taught me to be better with money.

74) Before leaving with Yultide to bring all the toys to the children around the world, Santa would hold up a piece of mistletoe.  Stacy and I would finally kiss.  

It would taste just like gingerbread.  

75) The two of us would have both completed our complex character arcs - all in 90 minutes with a few Downey commercials sprinkled in-between.

76) And by Christmas morning, all will be well - because that’s how it was always going to be, of course. Because we were in a Hallmark movie.

If my life were a Hallmark holiday movie, that is how it would all go. There would be an existential crisis and a resolution all within 90 minutes.

It would be a sappy story of equal parts stress, romance, and miracle. It would be an epic tale where the hero of the story faces certain disasters - only to have an unexpected grace show up in the Saint Nick of time. If my life were a Hallmark movie it would be a tearjerker.

Unfortunately, my life isn't one of those films. It is more of a movie you would find on a more sadistic cable channel.

The bankers are calling.

They want my magic.

They are giving me paperwork that screams "It's not personal, John, this is just business."

The bottom line is bringing me to rock bottom.

Like a Hallmark Holiday Movie, my story is also a tearjerker - but for a completely different reason. It doesn’t appear as if Santa is going to drop in with a bag filled to the brim with cash to save the day.

I keep looking for the camera crews filming me in the background. I’m holding my breath for the snow to start to fall which carries with it a sense of upcoming miracle. I am waiting for any kind of sign that a timely resolution is on the way.

The old-fashioned lamp post inside of me has gone dark.  

I am waiting to hear someone call out "Action" So, I can say the line: "I know everything will work out just fine." and I will believe it. I will believe it. I will believe it.

Because I have to believe it. I have to believe it. I have to believe it.

I have to believe that I am being held by something larger than me.

I’m being held by hope.

Hope and I have been estranged lately.  Hope was my former crush.  We used to have an intense relationship.  Hope used to seduce me. 

But over the years, I let hope’s hand slip from my grasp and it disappeared into the night. Now, in the Saint Nick of time, hope is back.  Despite the uncertainty that faces me - hope arrived at my doorstep.  

I am falling back in love with hope as it shows me how to look for the signs of miracles among the freezing winds of anxiety I’m experiencing.

The more I think about it, maybe my life is more like a Hallmark Christmas movie than I have previously thought it was.

Maybe, at least, for the next month I will act like I am in one.

Maybe this isn’t about saving my proverbial reindeer farm.  Maybe this is about teaching me to believe in magic again.  Maybe this experience is here to help me fall in love with hope again.   

If that’s the case, then mission accomplished.

I am tempted to live the rest of my life like it is an endless Christmas morning in a Hallmark movie.  

Even though the weight of the world is starting to crash down on me, I can feel the sweet lips of hope meeting mine 

- and they taste just like gingerbread.

The lamp post inside

of me comes to life again.

And suddenly - all is well because everything worked out.

I have to believe that.

I have to.

Come explore your heart with me in 2025!

You are invited to come join a community of Unafraid storytellers. ❤️

https://www.johnroedel.com/events

I have writing retreats/events being set up all across the country up as well as a couple opportunities in Europe.

I have some new online opportunities just announced as well!

Come listen and write down the lyrics to the music of your life at one of my events next year!

Or reach out to have me join you for an event you are hosting by emailing me at john@johnroedel.com