The Mercy Finder

The Mercy Finder

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

How can I NOT miss Boston?

This is what I missed by cancelling my trip to Boston, Anniegirl in the leaves, but I know I had to. Although Chelsea didn't have too many contractions over the past 5 days, I would have been very unhappy being 3000 miles away if she'd gone into preterm labor again while I was casually eating clam chowder on Boylston St. and couldn't get home in time. With Paul Revere as a role model, I would have been circling round the lamp posts yelling, "the baby is coming, the baby is coming!"
Now that she's officially at 33 weeks I have devised a plan to give her a little relief. I have graciously offered to take her on a 15-25 minute drive-thru or driveby drive every afternoon so she can have a change of scenery besides just my face or counting flowers on the wall. Since she has to lie in the passenger seat in a semi-reclining position because, according to her perinatologist, sitting is just as bad as standing gravitywise, the most she usually gets to see is the sky, the tops of palm trees, and occasional red tile roofs. She was getting a huge craving for a twist at McDonald's so I told her we'd go get one. She suggested we not go to our usual MickeyD but to try out a newer one a little farther away so we could get a better variety of Monopoly pieces.
When we arrived at the order box we heard the familiar melodious Mexican accent, "Can I take chore order?" I asked for a diet Coke and Chelsea said she wanted a twist. "We don't have no tweest, we chust have vanilla or a chocolate deep." "I don't want a chocolate dip, I only want a twist," Chelsea said. "We don't have no tweest. We don't have no chocolate. We only have a chocolate deep." Chelsea suddenly sat straight up and yelled "What the H@##! I just want a twist!"
Now I get this reaction, I really do. I've been pregnant before (if I hadn't I probably wouldn't be in this situation) and hormonally imbalanced, but I've never been on strict bed rest for 14 weeks. And she'd already had a pretty tough morning w/ a fly buzzing around in her non-airconditioned condo, I'd beat her in best 2 out of 3 Mexican Trains, and her roots are growing out way too fast. As I looked slightly horrified at my pregnant, seriously housebound adult daughter (and, by the way, there's a very good online support group http://www.sidelines.org/ for this very thing) and tried to speak in a calm soft voice, I suggested she get the vanilla cone. We drove to the "2nd" window and the cheery helpful girl working there (backed up by her manager who perhaps was concerned that we might have an Uzi in the car inspite of California gun laws) handed us the diet Coke and cone, all the while informing us that McDonald's didn't have a twist or chocolate softees.
While we drove away and I re-enacted for Chelsea her reaction we both had a pretty good fat-girl laugh over it.
However, upon returning home, being the lawyer that she is she dug up the evidence below: http://www.xanga.com/JanandPeterBrady/267157579/item.html but it was posted in 2005, and someone in Australia said they couldn't find a twist back in 2000.
If so, why does McDonald's publish their calorie count for a twist?
So here's my question...when's the last time you had or saw a twist other than at Foster's Freeze?

6 comments:

V.a.n.e.s.s.a said...

Wow! Pregnancy sounds tough! Maybe I'll add another two years in my waiting plan...sounds too rough....I'm far too weak....

jowo said...

Anyone who teaches Driver's Ed and raises ferrets can't be too weak...Cheryl previously told me you were on the 10-yr plan. Don't wait too long, you might end up like Chelsea...

Brittany Archibald said...

Yeah, you're pretty missed here, but we know duty calls with Chels. I'm not even pregnant, yet, I know the frustration when a MickeyD's doesn't carry a twist! Don't they know that's what most people prefer? Let me know if you do ever find one.

Brittany Archibald said...

I just read my comment up above. I must be really tired. I just saw that I wrote "yet" after "I'm not pregnant" when I meant in a totally different way then it probably came across. Gee, can you tell what's on my mind. I'm embarrassed.

Unknown said...

that is so incredibly frustrating! tell chels that i totally sympathize. like brittany, i am also not pregnant (yet ;) but i cannot imagine why mickey d's would not sell a twist, especially when they say they do. honestly, who gets anything else when there's a choice? by the way, does chels crochet? my friend does it at church to keep her from getting bored :) it's so automatic that you can do it without really thinking, but it keeps your hands busy and it's easy to learn. even if it's just pot holders, maybe it would serve as a distraction. plus, i totally need potholders so she should probably make me one or two while she's at it.

MAMACITA said...

I will be on the lookout for the twist cone at McD's---even though I now get the yogurt parfait there because it's just THREE Weight Watcher points and ooooooooohhh so good! :) And.....empathy on the outburst! But, what does it mean when you react just like that PLUS slap the livin' *%#** out of a person, and you're NOT pregnant OR in a prescribed 6-month reclining position? :)