Today I would like to talk to you about the dangers of Brain Freezes

As a family we love ice cream. I mean it’s an American staple. It’s as American as apple pie, baseball, Pearl Jam, Johnny Cash and Ice cream. Actually, I’d put Cash higher on the list but that’s another column for another day. We love going out for ice cream. Farr’s Fresh, Cherry Berry, Baskins and DQ are all part of the routine.  Well, most of us anyway. Connor I swear is the only kid in a three county areas that doesn’t like ice cream. Ok, he likes it but he doesn’t have the unhealthy obsession that most of us do. Even tonight he didn’t want a Butterscotch Beer Float, just the Butterscotch beer (again its beer like root-beer is beer. Don’t judge). Nothing wrong with it, he is just missing the 2^nd greatest dessert known to man. First was a carrot/cheesecake from Mr. Z’s in SLC that Mandy and I used to frequent we were first married and living downtown. Alas, it’s no longer there but hey I can have a food dream about it…….ok dream over.

Don’t get me wrong, the boy loves his sugar. He is more of a chocolate, candy and slush kind of guy. Especially the slushy, he loves the slushy. From a parents' prospective, is there a more evil kind of dessert than slushy? Ice, sugar flavor and that’s it. It melts into goo so vile that even the strongest of cleaners cannot remove it from clothes or furniture. It stains the teeth, the lips and tongue.  Slushes give you that sickly sweet feeling that lasts for hours. No wonder he loves the things.

A couple of weeks ago we decided to head up the road to the DQ (really if I have to say what the DQ stands for, just stop reading) for some Blizzards and Slushes. Alex and I got our require S’more Blizzard (oh lordy), Mandy got her Snickers Blizzard but Connor, Connor decided to be different again. He went for the Frozen Lemonade Slush. Confession time: it was really flippin good, tart and sweet. It was perfect for hot 129 degree day that it was (temperature may have been exaggerated). We had ordered these all through the drive thru so we could enjoy them at home. On the way home Mandy noticed that Connor was making a face, and not just any face. Connor was making the universal face for BRAIN FREEZE! Eyes scrunched in unimaginable pain. Face pinched together in agony. Temples pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat that was becoming more rapid as the freeze progressed. We’ve all been there. When the freeze is that bad you just ride it out. Easier said than done.

 

Once, the freeze was discovered we all yell out our different remedies at the same time: look at the ceiling, no look at the traffic lights, no look down and put your head between your knees. All of that came tumbling out. Poor man was almost in, tears it hurt so much. After the brain freeze passed, the question of course is asked, “Mama what was that?”

“Connor that was a cold headache." Are you ok?”

“Yes I think so, Mama.”

“Well, is your frozen Lemonade good?” Mandy asked.

“No Mama, I’m terrified of this.”

“You’re terrified of the brain freeze?”

“No I’m terrified of the slush. It’s too tart.”

Looking back on the situation, driving on a busy road, while laughing so hard tears are coming out is not a fun situation to be in. Even though Mandy and I had stomach cramps after. His delivery was perfectly innocent. He had just gone through the Mother of all Brain Freeze and he was worried about the tartness of the slush.

 

I love him.