Nestle Crunch Bars & Diet Coke

Many years ago, when my parents were first married, my mom happened to be eating this specific candy bar when she told my dad, “I love you more than a Nestle Crunch bar.” From that day forward, whenever my dad gave my mom a Nestle Crunch bar, he was actually saying, “I love you.” Funny, Nestle Crunch bars aren’t even her favorite candy (I asked).

It’s the little things that people do to say “I love you.” Those little things may seem small, but have oceans of depth behind them.

When my husband and I were dating, I was working the graveyard shift as a police dispatcher. I had been running late for work and didn’t have time to stop for my usual caffeine fix (a 32-ounce fountain drink of Diet Coke). I could have gotten a canned or bottled one from a vending machine, but those don’t hit the spot – fountain drinks just taste better.

Anyway. I was working alone, so I couldn’t exactly take a 30 second break and walk away from the tiny caged dungeon that was my work station (literally, it was in the same building as the jail so there was a metal cage on the door and windows). I don’t remember much else about that day other than my shift started out rough and things were hectic with nonstop phones and radio traffic. An hour and a half into my shift, I heard someone knock at the door. I looked over and there was my husband (my then-boyfriend), standing outside my cage with a large Diet Coke fountain drink. My sweet man had driven over an hour (one way) in the middle of the night from his apartment down a very long and boring highway just to bring me a soda because he knew I was having a tough day at work and he wanted to make my day just a little better.

Seventeen years later, he will still go out of his way just to bring me a Diet Coke. It’s my primary addiction, but as far as vices go, it’s not too shabby. I almost always have one next to me. In fact, when my daughter was in Kindergarten, she drew a picture of us and, the one accessory my stick-figure was holding, was very clearly a soda cup with “QT” written neatly on the side (the name of the “soda store” we most frequent), which she said was my Diet Coke. From the mouths of babes, right?

We also, as a family, have always said “I love you” in sign language (below).

No, it’s not the “rock-n-roll” sign. This is something my parents taught me and my sisters, which I have carried into my own family with my husband and daughter because I just love it. Yes, we also say the words daily (several times, in fact), but it’s nice to also have our own quirky, little gestures rich with meaning. Not to mention I love food, especially chocolate and Diet Coke, so…win-win.

Original Post 01/2021