I stopped for a milkshake today, and had a little flashback about my dad. After the sadness of the last couple days, I thought I’d share a little silliness with you today. Before we put my dad in the dementia care facility, my mom, my husband and I lived in the same house with my dad and all took turns watching him. We had a schedule so that there was always someone around to keep an eye on him and so that we each still got some down time. But keeping him entertained was a challenge, so sometimes when it was my turn, I’d take him into town for a treat like ice cream or a milkshake.

One of his favorite things was a peppermint milkshake from Chick-fil-A. One afternoon, I drove him to town for said milkshake, and when they passed our shakes to us, I handed him his and turned around to grab a couple straws. In the 10 seconds it took me to get the straws, he had upended his milkshake onto his face and swallowed almost half. He looked up, grinning, with a face covered in whipped cream and milkshake. He was like a 5 year old – just covered in it. And he was giddy. I hadn’t laughed as hard as I did when I saw him like that in a long time. So I let him finish his shake (which took about 20 more seconds) and then ordered a water to dip napkins in to clean him up since I couldn’t take him into the women’s restroom with me.

So now, whenever I get a milkshake or pass a Chick-fil-A, I get my own giddy little smile remembering the abandon with which he enjoyed that peppermint shake.