Every October finds me on the prowl for a specific something. I get an itch in my brain for a certain kind of October thing and the obsession almost becomes manic. Sometimes it is a search for my semi elusive monster cereal, other times it is for a new corn maze experience. I have ventured forth and conquered new October adventures and have found exciting new locales. But one quest always seems to be left unfinished. I have searched from the dark recesses of the interwebs to the frozen aisles of the grocery store and everywhere in between, but still it eludes me, what is this October phoenix you ask, it is pumpkin nog.
I found it five years ago in my local grocery store in the corner of the extra refrigerated foods case. A golden light shown down from the heavens illuminating it and an unearthly choir sang a tune. Much like Arthur seeing the sword in the stone, there it was in its case, soy pumpkin nog. Ok, so it didn’t exactly happen like that. They wasn’t a light, but there was muzak coming out of the store speakers.
Of course with my seasonal pumpkin mania I bought one to try it out. It proved so tasty that I went back and bought another. I sipped on it all through the month of November when they finally stopped selling it, then happily waited until the next year when it would come again. Only it didn’t. I waited and waited, I went to other grocery stores but no luck. It seems it was a one-time thing. But then some friends from out of state found some for me and shipped it over. Life was good again, till the next year where once again, no nog to be found, anywhere. Sure, regular pumpkin nog was on the shelves taunting me, but no soy. I got so desperate I bought the pumpkin spice creamer, but it just wasn’t the same.
I enlisted the help of friends far and wide and once again visited every grocery store in a fifty mile radius. No luck. It seemed that my beloved nog was not to be. Either that or it was a figment of my imagination. I asked the local grocer if they would be restocking it and he seemed confused. He was pretty sure they had never sold such a thing.
For a few years I brooded and sulked, until this year on a whim I tried the internet again. I had almost given up hope when there it was, almond milk pumpkin nog. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I refreshed the page and once I was convinced that it was real, bought it as fast as my fingers could fly over the keyboard. I didn’t care that it came in a pack of six, that just meant that I could enjoy it longer. I waited and waited for the package to arrive, then the message came that my shipment was delayed. Then I got a new delivery date, but that too got delayed. I was getting suspicious and a bit irritable. There is nothing like a goal almost achieved to set one on edge.
But then it came. I may or may not have danced with the box, I may or may not have squealed. Six glorious containers of nog all for me (yeah, like I’m gonna share). I haven’t even cracked one open yet. I want to save it for a special occasion. At the very least I will open one on Halloween. However, these things do have an expiration date and how awful would it be if I never drank it and just let it go bad? Then where would I be? Once again nogless, that’s where.
So the moral of this story, chill out, it’s only pumpkin nog for goodness sake. And go find your own bottle, this one’s all mine ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment