Strawberry sundaes were never my favorite. Although I love strawberries, caramel(I pronounce it Carmel)seemed to reach a place in my soul that words could not express. Like brown silk slithering down my tonsils after seeping through ever taste bud that God designed in my mouth. I loved the way it become one with the vanilla ice cream and then trapped by the drizzled nuts, sealing the deal. My grandmother on the other hand, always ordered the Strawberry sundae. I guess she had her own experience. I guess I should have mentioned, that these were the famous McDonald sundaes; the ones that are still one dollar after all these years, among other things like gas. Several times I tried to convince her to try the caramel(Ca-Ra-Mel as my husband says),but she didn't budge. I eventually gave up and without ever saying it, we agreed to disagree! That was fine because it was deeper than the sundaes anyways. When we got together it was about taking a break from "life" and sitting down for twelve minutes to enjoy each other's company. My little sister(4 years younger than me)seemed to enjoy our McDonald trips as well. We had a ritual. Grandma took us to the mall. We shopped until she dropped (on a bench here and there), and grandma always made us carry the bags, or as she would say, "Carry your troubles!" We'd sit around the table like a campfire and taste the sweet part of life.
Years passed by, I grew up, and without warning McDonald's decided to lay off some of the items on the menu or maybe like other fast food chains they had to keep up with the latest desserts. So they decided that the Caramel sundae were much better than the Strawberry. Our McDonald trips had ceased anyways because I was now a teenager out seeing the world, so I had no time for grandma or Caramel sundaes(how I regret this). In the summer of 2005 my sweet grandma took her last breath. That was around the same time that McDonald's reunited with their first love, the Strawberry sundae. I couldn't believe it!
I remember my grandmothers viewing like it was yesterday. My uncle sitting beside me while I daydreamed. He nudged me and asked, "What are you thinking about?" I couldn't tell him that I was thinking about a strawberry sundae from McDonald's. He would think I was so selfish. He wouldn't have understood the significance behind it. When it was time for the family to give hopefully only two minutes of reflections, my legs involuntarily lifted me up and I walked up to front of the room. I grabbed the hand of my step dad to stand next to me to help calm my nerves. I shared a few words about my grandma and turned to her and told her that the Strawberry sundae was back. I hoped that God had sent her the message. that was the day I bought the Strawberry sundae, and entered into her world! It actually wasn't bad either! But that was a sad day. To some people it may seem silly or "too deep", but there a lot of experiences in life that cannot be explained. No one can take the significance of those moments from you. All I can ever do is wonder and imagine why they brought that flavor back, but it was special to me. I have to let you know that shortly after, they discontinued the Strawberry sundae!
What are the odds of that!
That was deep but powerful Monique!
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