The sensation of little bubbles popping in the air close to my lips, the fizzle sounds they make trapped in their aluminum can and suddenly the thoughts that were scattered in my mind seem to organize themselves or not even matter in the first place. The ice-cold fluid as it dances across my taste buds for the first time and awakens my senses, chaos now falls into place. When our home is quiet, the lights are out with the last little one tucked into bed I sometimes treat myself to cold Diet Coke. That very first drink of a cold Diet Coke after a long day at work around children and coming home to my own children; often excited to share their day, sometimes frustrated at how it went somehow puts my life back in order, even if just for a moment.
Sitting on the couch, my shoes off and my feet up on the coffee table my dad made for me several Christmases ago. The TV remote in my hand, finally I can watch whatever I want, but instead I turn on music, 80’s love songs. Listening to Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration” or Def Leopard “Pour Some Sugar on Me” while I enjoy my Diet Coke.
Whether I am popping the top of a cold can, or slipping it through a straw in a Styrofoam cup, ice cold Diet Coke at the end of the day makes this hard working mom happy.
My Own Happily Ever After 