Bliss in a blizzard

A few years ago I posted a photo on Facebook of my go-to evil snack. Why mess with the small size when you can get the gigundo Blizzard. 

I'm not stupid. I know this is not a lettuce and tomato salad with a light vinaigrette on the side. I know this is not a cup of nonfat yogurt.

This is the stuff that sends non-compliant diabetics to the ER. This is one of the contributors to our nation's high obesity numbers for kids and adults.

But Blizzards gave me comfort and soothed my husband. When he would get testy, a testiness clearly attached to his dementia, a trip to Dairy Queen did the trick.

He'd stand in line like the 5-year-old he was slowly becoming with a quiet excitement. He was getting a Blizzard!

I was no better. I was getting a Blizzard!

It made us both happy as we'd sit down and slurp and spoon until the last drop was gone.

Once he was in the nursing home I was going to Dairy Queen alone, either I was on my way to see Martin with two Blizzards melting under the car's air conditioning. Or I'd grab one on the way back home. It was my friend after sitting with Martin during a visit when he might have slept the entire time.

One day I was especially happy and posted a photo of my Blizzard on the hood of my car. I don't recall the exact comment but it was written by a friend--a skinny friend--who decided to mini-lecture me on the calories in one of those things.

Really? I had no freaking idea.

I remember getting mad because he had no freaking idea. 

The next time I looked at the post his comment was gone. I'm guessing he or his spouse thought better of it. The subject was never mentioned again.

I'm still a Blizzard fan though I get the small ones and whenever possible I walk down to the DQ and back home again. 

I'll forever be a DQ fan because our local franchise always treated my husband with dignity and respect. They always greeted him with a big smile and they always laughed along with him--not at him--when they'd flip his Blizzard for the bizillionth time. He always beamed as if he were seeing it for the very first time. So did they.

Today's lesson: Be kind. Unless you are in someone's shoes, you have no idea.