Drive-Thru Detox

So in the interest of full disclosure, I am admitting my greatest weakness for all the world to see. I have a problem. I love McDonald's. Not the food so much, but the ease and convenience, and the bite and the burn of their...... Diet Coke! In thinking about this, I have decided that I definitely have an emotional attachment to the place. For example, I remember my 4th birthday; picture me and all my friends transported to the Granger McDonald's. We took some sort of a tour (I think) had a burger, a visit from Ronald, cake and presents... does it get better than that? Fast forward 12 years and after a fairly messy break-up with a high-school boyfriend, where does my dad take me for a heart-to-heart? The golden arches on 17th South and Redwood Road. On my wedding day, after standing in the June sun for two hours taking pictures, where did we head for a drink on our way to the wedding breakfast... the McDonald's on North Temple. There are many other experiences I could site, most recently a friendship with a young man, Oscar, who worked the window at my Centerville store, but I won't. The point is, I have a problem.

For the last couple of years, Matt has been trying to convince me to give up my habit, but let's analyze this a bit. Despite the fact that I could have made a mortgage payment with what I spent at McDonald's last year, I love being able to swing in, place my order and get my fix, all without having to haul the kids out of the car. Now I know, the food pretty much sucks, but like I said, my infatuation lies in the soda fountain portion. My own personal exception to the questionable food is breakfast. It's not so bad, and they will always customize a biscuit the way I like; they don't always get it right, but they try. With the girls in school all day, and Jack and I driving to preschool five days a week, I am embarrassed to say that he can probably count on two hands the mornings we haven't had pancakes for breakfast since school started. I started to think I had a problem when he started refusing cereal and toast at home on the weekends because he was holding out for a trip to the golden arches. It was confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt when I found myself in line at the drive-thru for the fourth (yeah, you read that right) FOURTH time of the day around 4 pm yesterday. I had already given Jack breakfast and lunch there, and was now stopping by for a Diet Coke and ice cream for our afternoon snack. I guess I justify it by telling myself that we don't actually eat a lot of fried foods (my kids don't really care for french fries) and lately all Jack wants is the toy anyway. How much can it hurt that we're having a little together time in a parking lot while waiting for the girls to finish at gymnastics?

Well, here's the problem.... take away the money, although that should have been a motivating factor all along. Time was, eating out was a rarity. When my parents were young, I would venture to say they rarely, if ever, ate out. When I was a kid, I remember eating out as a child; with instances increasing as my brothers and I got into high school and busy with all that life has to offer teenagers these days. Now, my kids think eating out is a way of life. I guess if you look at the headlines and stories on childhood obesity, it is all too often a way of life. So, I finally get it. I admit it. I am taking a stand!

For the month of April, I am vowing to myself, and to you, that you will not find me going through the drive-thru at McDonald's, or any other fast food restaurant, for that matter. I am curious to see whether I notice the extra couple of bucks floating around, and seeing whether my daily visits really impact the scale that much, or whether I make up for them in other ways. The bottom line (there seems to be one in every single one of my posts) is that I need to set the example, and despite the good times that I have had courtesy of Ray Kroc and company, I am going to take a break and try to gain some perspective.

Now, I'm going to go to bed and hope that I still have friends tomorrow. Writing this post is akin to the dream where you show up at school naked... now it's all out there for everyone to see.... how pathetic am I? I hope you still like me. And just to be clear, I will not now, nor ever, be giving up Diet Coke, so don't ask.