Miles of Crocodiles, Coffee, Tea & Plan B

Is there a favourite animal as well as a treat that brings a smile to your face?  Perhaps the animal is your dog or cat or even a stuffie with sentimental value.  How about your favourite treat?  What would that be?  Let’s remember that a super delectable treat is something that we don’t indulge in often.  That’s what makes the anticipation of the treat so huge.  We have a saying at our house about the times when we are really excited about something.  We refer to whatever the excitement is about as, “we are big time excited.”  We have actions that we do with the “big time” that always brings a smile to my heart as I get to watch our boys do these.

Dr. Seuss has a book that is entitled, “Miles & Miles of Reptiles.”  Maybe you have read it to your wee one or have enjoyed it yourself over the years.  Isn’t it amazing to know that someone like Dr. Seuss left such a legacy of laughter & enjoyment for generations to come?  We may not all write famous children’s books, yet we each have an original ripple to leave to the world too if we live with “big time” intention, excitement & kindness.

When asked about my favourite pet or animal, the answer is a resounding “golden retrievers.”  I cannot remember a time in my life that I did not want to be owned by a golden retriever.  How can you not love their perpetual smiles, unique groans of joy & assistance with picking up your socks each morning.  Being exactly, beautiful originals, each one of our sons have a favourite animal & treat as well.  Matt enjoys all animals with fur & cats everywhere seem to know that he will be kind to them & approach him often.  Brian is always promoting the beauty of the giant squid as well as stingrays.  He provides us with endless facts on these creatures.  Alex has always been fond of alligators & crocodiles.  He has a number of stuffie alligators & crocodiles as well as a laughing crocodile.    You would not imagine yourself cuddling up to a giant squid, stingray, crocodile nor alligator yet it is endearing to see how enthusiastic the boys are about all of the creatures of the earth.  That feels exactly right to my heart.

Imagine that you can at this very moment enjoy any treat in the world.  Perhaps, you have enjoyed a particular food only once while travelling or maybe it is a treat that is readily available.  What is it?  Is it chocolate?  I will share with you that my favourite rare indulgence is Starbuck’s Mocha.  It is something that I savor & hold with both hands & enjoy every sip.  Let’s share a “cuppa” (couple of) coffee stories.  One is just for a laugh & one is for a reason.  First, the “cup” of laughter story…  Just before Christmas last year, I was standing behind a gentleman who was almost polling people in line as to what to order for himself.  It was funny & the chap was an animated, fun fellow & that made waiting just fine for everyone.  Finally, when the gentleman ordered, he said that he would like a peppermint latte with non-fat milk & double whip cream.  I started to laugh at the juxtaposition of that.  Then the fellow turned to me laughing too & admitted that he had not considered that did not make any sense.  That’s okay though, right because having a treat may not even make sense.  The fact that the order did not make sense & a number of us were jovially laughing together (not at) with the gentleman I believe made that coffee experience even more fun for the chap.  Now, coffee for a reason…  If you take insulin, then you will appreciate that when we enjoy a treat, that the treat is enjoyed all the more when we know precisely how many carbohydrates are in the goody.  Easter Monday, I ear-marked on my calendar as the day that I would look forward to a decadent mocha.  As I placed my order, the gal working at the coffee shop advised me that they did not have the usual chocolate for the drink.  I said what most folks say that take insulin.  I asked the lady how many carbs would be in the drink with the different chocolate that day.  The lady advised me that she had no idea.  I laughed & let her know that the only reason that I was asking about carbs was because I have type 1 diabetes & needed to “do the math” for the treat.  Ah, I decided that the mocha treat beverage would need to wait for another day when all the usual ingredients were available since I have the “math” figured out for the original mocha.  We can choose to guess when it comes to carbs & math yet I have found that I do not feel too well when I do that.  Then, the enjoyment of the treat is pretty much overshadowed by the not well feeling.  Ah, the original mocha will be back  in good time & it will be worth the wait.  There was no bad news here because I could continue to anticipate that yummy treat in the future & as long as I was there anyhow, I enjoyed a regular coffee with honey instead.  That is always my plan b, regular coffee with honey.  Having a plan b even if it is just a small plan surrounding a treat is awesome I have found.  The plan b reminds me that I always have an alternative even with this thing called diabetes.  I always have choices when it comes to enjoying the odd treat or choosing to laugh whenever possible.  I can turn on the tv if I want to hear bad news yet I can tune into my own station in my mind for good news.  It is all an intentional choice each & every day.

My heart’s hope for you is that whether you like mammals or reptiles, coffee, tea, chocolate or all the above, that you tune into the positive station in your mind that is your original, big time attitude towards life!

Smiles,  Saundie  :)

Hope this weekend is Your Cup of Tea & Monday's sharing is entitled, "Innocent & Not Sentenced."      :)