I
swear, I didn’t really care about the soda. At least not nearly
to the degree of obsession that pounded away inside my thoughts.
Karen
and I often find ourselves picking groceries up for her mother.
One of the things she enjoys is a specific soda. Without wandering
too deeply into explanations, this is being mentioned simply to
say that we often find ourselves paying attention for the buy-two-get-two
and similar offers from a local grocery store chain.
About
two weeks ago, just such a sale was in progress. And, the design
of the beverage aisle at that particular time drew my eyes to
a product I hadn’t seen previously. One—as noted, cherry limeade—that
appeals to my tastes.
I
didn’t buy it.
For
one reason, I’ve been trying to behave with my food and beverage
choices lately. Drink more water. You get the idea. For another,
I didn’t need four packages of soda. And while I could mix and
match a bit, the reality was that even assorted with different
flavors, Karen and I didn’t need four packages of soda.
For
another, frankly, not all cherry beverages are the same. Some
of them proudly list cherry on the label and then, for reasons
I don’t understand, include no cherry flavor in the product. And,
some of them are just awful. No guarantee I was even going to
enjoy what I purchased.
(As
an aside here: Who are you folks that enjoy Dr. Pepper? Honestly,
I’m near the belief that puts the enjoyment of Dr. Pepper on my
list of reasons not to trust a person. Not there yet, but close.
Puppies don’t like you and four-year-olds don’t like you are the
only two permanent items on such a list. But liking Dr. Pepper
is close to having a place. Especially if puppies don’t like you
and you like Dr. Pepper. Anyway… let’s walk back from the edge
of a massive tangent… cherry limeade on sale…)
I
didn’t buy it.
But
it taunted me.
Errands
here, assorted needs there, a bit of this and a bit of that, and
I found myself back in the store two more times in the days that
followed. That meant multiple visits during the promotion’s run.
And I kept seeing the cherry limeade soda on display.
Finally,
I gave in. When dinner plans involved stopping for a few needed
items, I was walking into the store having made the decision I
was going to buy some cherry limeade soda and give it a try.
Naturally,
by that trip, the sale had ended.
I
still bought it. (Which provides the twist.)
It
was ok. Just ok. Not spectacular. It was good. Even enjoyable.
But hardly something that has me thinking about getting more.
Hardly something that leaves me sad that more stores don’t carry
it in their inventories. I’d buy it again, but won’t ever randomly
think of buying it again.
I
think all of us have moments where a craving or desire catches
our attention and sweeps us away with anticipation. Often—more
often than we’d like—we move along to places where the experience
could never meet the expectations. Most of the time, however,
we are left with a simple result that can go two ways: thrilled
or disappointment. My reaction here filled none of those categories.
The bar was never too high, nor was I thrilled or disappointment.
It’s
an unexpected situation for me. A shoulder shrug wedged right
up against indifference. An example that, occasionally, there
are alternatives to the simple question of yes or no.