Yesterday reminded me that I'm supposed to be a grown-up now.
You see, yesterday was 7-11-2011. You know,
FREE SLURPEE DAY
This should have been a big deal for me, but it came and went without a blip. I rarely get Slurpees. I think they are only appropriate at certain time, like...
...after a soccer game when it's been blazingly hot and BYU narrowly won and then you notice that all the cool kids are going to "the sev" because they FINALLY got the Coca-Cola flavored kind.
...when you've just left Lake Powell and your skin is burnt to a crisp and all you've eaten is corn nuts and licorice for the past 24 hours and you've been reading Twilight while laying out, in the sun so you need good ol' brain freeze to help you gain control of your senses.
...after hanging out on the playground at Lindsey Gardens and it's the nicest time of night and the cops have already told you to leave... but how could you go home? It's a beautiful night! So you walk over to 7-11. They have those new straws that change color. And then you decide to hit up Emu's grave cause you just realized it's Friday the 13th!!!!!111!!!!1!!!
...after you've hiked Angel's Landing in Zions Canyon and you're on your way through Hurricane (pronounced hur-r-kin) and you realize if you time it right, you can hit up the sev AND see the new Pirates movie. You just need to hide your Slurpee up the sleeve of your sweatshirt. And hey, if you can guys work together, you may be able to smuggle in a whole pizza.
...your mom says you can get a treat but it has to be under a dollar but luckily they have those mini-slurpees for 75 cents and you're not allowed to have Mountain Dew flavor BUT if you put it in first and then cover it with pina colada flavor, MOM WILL NEVER KNOW.
... it's the summer of 2005, your last summer before college, and you have some time to kill before watching Batman Begins and luckily there is a sev two blocks away AND you get a free itunes download on every 32 ounce cup. You will end up getting a Slurpee every couple of days for the rest of the summer.
YEAH.
Those are the times that warrant a slurpee.
Even though I've tried to avoid full-on adulthood this summer, I can't help but feel myself falling into its clutches. This hasn't been a slurpee summer. I thought that taking care of kids would let me be more like a kid, but instead, it's turning me into a grown-up. I've looked up parenting advice online. Carefully analyzed music lyrics, movie and tv content to make sure the girls aren't exposed to anything unsavory. I check and double-check seat belts, water intake, and please's and thank you's. I make mental lists about the type of parent I want to be, the types of jobs I should be looking for as I graduate, and how I'll create a stable, debt-free lifestyle.
I guess I've passed the Slurpee time of my life. Attempts to re-live those crazy, care-free days of summer seem contrived.
But I'm certain that great summers lie ahead. Though they may be different, they will have their own sort of golden glory. This talk is helpful in maintaining that perspective.
Stay Gold.
No comments:
Post a Comment