Father Figures: Soda Jerk

There are lots of things that kids like: new toys, candy, yelling the same song 20 times while only knowing half the words. Some kids like soda (or pop or coke or whatever you call it) and some kids don’t.
When my first-born was around two and a half, I decided that would be a good time to discover her soda preference. Not as a planned activity, of course, just spur of the moment. I was with my wife and only child in line at Freebirds (which is like Chipotle, but good) and they had a beverage station at the top of the line. I got my standard Diet Dr. Pepper and queued up.
(I realize this sounds more and more like an ad for Texas as I go on, but so be it!)
I was holding my sweet little girl when she looked over at me and asked for some of my drink. Not thinking much of it, I offered her the straw. She took a sip. The reaction didn’t take long….
It took to her stomach as though she’d downed a case of Mentos beforehand. Within seconds, I was covered from shoulder to shoe in the contents of that poor kiddo’s stomach. Multiple rounds of Goldfish and mashed fruit coated the floor between my feet. In shock, we looked around for help, but no one seemed to notice. After what felt like an eternity, my wife grabbed a couple paper towels, wiped as much as possible off our clothes adnd nnounced “someone should clean this up!” as we all headed for the door.
Needless to say, we don’t keep colas around the house!
Joel Monahan
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