One-third left, but not for long.
I’m sitting here drinking a Dunkin Donuts Coffee Coolatta, the one whose first sip shocked me with its sweetness, the one I at first ordered as a small and then said screw it, what I really want is a medium, and realized: It’s sweet. It’s good. And while my first inclination was to chastise myself for that, I’m not going to feel guilty about its high calorie, nutritionally vapid super-sized-ness. It is icy and sweet and satisfying and today, a day when I really need it, this Coolatta made me smile.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
I’m drinking the Coolatta, and perhaps more relevantly, writing about the Coolatta, because after six months of days pock-marked by anxiety, sucker punches, loss, waiting, disappointment and frustration, I’ve decided that if something brings you joy, embrace it. Life isn’t to be endured. It’s to be lived. Enjoyed. Embraced. Sipped, if necessary.
When I first tasted that Coolatta, I said to myself, ‘Oh that’s yum. But oh no, I won’t drink it all.” Not that I couldn’t drink it all. But that I shouldn’t. Desserts and candy and sweets and pretty much anything that’s a joy to eat are for skinny people, not a girl like me who sighed in frustration when she stepped on the bathroom scale this morning. Just this week I interviewed two nutrition experts who spoke about metabolism and the evils of blood sugar surges. Sugar makes us fat! Sugar triggers appetite! Sugar is the enemy.
That all might be true but you know what is a proven fact? Sugar is awesome. And I deserve awesome. So I’m drinking my Coolatta. I’ll slurp it until it makes that rattling noise that let’s you know that sadly, it’s all gone. And then hopefully I’ll find something else today that makes me smile, be it taking my kids to the playground or buying them ice cream (our Friday ritual) or just feeling the sun on my face and the breeze — warm finally! — on my bare arms.
Today a Coolatta made me smile. I hope you find — and seek out — your own Coolatta moment today.
