A Truth About Me

I am going to let you in on a little truth about me. Some might think it embarrassing, but I quite frankly do not, or I wouldn't be posting this. I drink Carnation Instant Breakfast's chocolate milk for breakfast most days of the week, and I have done so for many, many years. I love it. You take a packet of powder, pour it in a tall glass, add some milk, stir, and drink. Growing up my parents told me I couldn't have it every day, so I had it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, usually without fail. If we were ever out of milk I was crushed, and had to scramble to find something else to eat. Even worse, if we were out of the chocolate milk it could be days before my parents got to the store and actually remembered it for me. And perhaps even worse than that, I hate to say it, was when they brought home the variety pack. I hated the variety pack. Variety packs meant drinking gross flavors like malted chocolate and vanilla, and they meant it would be a few weeks before a box of pure milk chocolate would come because a. I drank the variety packs more slowly and b. my parents said I had to finish them before they would buy any more. It was awful.

When I went to college my chocolate milk drinking days didn't end. Even in my dorm room I always had a quart of skim milk to mix myself a drink in the morning. And if I was ever out of milk I would simply take my packet down to the SUB and buy two pints of milk to go with it. I would mix it up and drink it with a straw on my way to class.

Sophomore year my girlfriends and I always made each other birthday cakes that were uniquely decorated for the honoree. For example, Amy's had a cactus on it, since she collected cactuses, or cacti. Jamie's was decorated to look like a big animal cell, with a huge jawbreaker for the nucleus, because she loved being a biology major. Well when my birthday came I was honestly a little worried that they wouldn't think of something exciting to put on my cake. I couldn't think of anything good that was unique to me. I'm sure you all know where this is going. Let me tell you how excited I was to see my cake, decorated exactly like a Carnation Instant Breakfast box. It was the perfect shade of yellow and instead of "Breakfast" running across the front it said "Birthday." I loved it. I thought it was beautiful. And technically it was because Melissa did an excellent job with it.

Now let me tell you the part I have left out of this story so far. To this day, I have my parents buy me my chocolate milk. If you don't know, they live many states away from me. They get it at Sam's Club because you can get the big box with 20 packets and it's a lot less expensive than at the grocery store. So they buy it and send it to me, or if I happen to be visiting home I will stuff two boxes worth into my luggage. "Don't we have Sam's Club here in Richmond?" you ask. And the answer is yes, we do, but I don't have a membership and neither do my grandparents. I searched high and low in Costco once, but couldn't find it. But let's be honest. Somewhere deep inside me I like relying on my parents to provide my favorite breakfast drink, as they have done for my entire life. I don't mind asking, and I think they secretly like it as well.

Well this afternoon I walked into the pantry. I looked up, and there I saw something I've never seen before. It was a box of Carnation Instant Breakfast, but it was the normal kind from the grocery store, AND they have changed the box. It's a different size. My grandparents really do love me, because they noticed I was low and went ahead and got me some. The unfortunate part, however, is they got the variety pack. And you know how I feel about those. I am still grateful though, and will try to drink the malted chocolate and vanilla with a smile.

But parents, if you're reading, please don't forget to send more! Thanks!