Did you know that you can have the perfect summer date for about 50 cents?
Popsicles have always been a part of mine and Spencer’s relationship. When I very first met him, part of the learning curve of being with someone who has Type 1 Diabetes included figuring out what resources we needed on hand: insulin to bring his blood sugar down (obviously he was in charge of that) and easy sugar to bring his blood sugar up. Because of #reasons, it wasn’t terribly easy to keep his blood sugar stable, so I learned.
I researched.
I kept juice and popsicles, occasionally soda or chips or other carbs, in my apartment for when he was there, and in the event that he had a low blood sugar episode.
Sometimes we got Otter Pops—or, rather, the generic brand of frozen sugar juice in long thin plastic tubes. These were great because you didn’t have to keep them all in the freezer; you could just freeze a few at a time (an important consideration for a teeny tiny apartment fridge).
Sometimes we got Outshine Mango Fruit Bars. So good, and more real fruit than most of the other grocery store options. Unfortunately far too pricey to buy often. One dollar per popsicle when they were on sale (and they could cost even more now). I always felt like I should be making a bigger deal out of eating one.
Now that I live in central Pennsylvania, this is the closest I’ve ever lived to a Walmart and we get groceries there quite a bit. Spencer is the one who discovered our new popsicle option.
Now, we get Cherry Pineapple Monster Pops ($3 for 12 of them). Personally I like them even better than the alternatives we’ve tried, and the cheap price doesn’t hurt. While Spencer still uses them occasionally to bring up his blood sugar, that’s not needed nearly as often and instead we have a whole ritual around popsicles together.
One of us suggests a ‘popsicle date’ (almost always the one who is volunteering to get up and go all the way to the kitchen).
When we settle in to watch our movie or show, we each open our Monster Pop, but you’re not allowed to take a bite yet.
We gingerly touch the tips of the popsicles together (like a “cheers” clink with champagne glasses). And yes, Spencer quotes the movie two-thirds of the time.
Most often we do this when watching a movie or TV show together, but we have also had a popsicle date out in the hammock while watching fireflies, or I think even on a short walk around the neighborhood.
It’s a tiny little treat to mark our time together as special and especially on a hot day it’s just exactly the right amount of cold and sugar and togetherness.
Highly recommend you do a popsicle date.
P.S. For a more nostalgic discussion of popsicles, and the post that inspired me to write about it, check out :
