Tippy Toe Fabulous

Maggie: I'm going to buy us lattes for our trip 

Me: Ok, one day won't hurt me (I am sensitive to dairy)

We are in Maggie's vehicle and she orders into the TV like screen that you can speak into, Two regular lattes. At the window, Maggie pays, and I sip. Almost instantaneously, fake flavouring hits my tastebuds, and shoots headache warning signals through my sinus' straight to my left temple. I tell her, That tastes nasty, like marshmallow (I like marshmallow), like chemicals - I can't drink that. She sips too, and scrunches up her face in disgust. She paid over ten dollars, which was a shocker for her, only for us to both be put off and disappointed. 

What follows has me admiring my friend greatly. She is bound and determined to replace these pathetic excuses sold as lattes, for the real deal. 

Maggie: If I pay for something as a treat, I want it to be right

Me: Normally I would out of politeness, choke down the drink, so that you weren't out money. I just can't do it. 

Maggie: I'm going to another McDonald's (we were heading toward the highway) and they are replacing these, without the flavour shots! It's the principle of the thing

Me: I admire your attitude

On the road, Maggie looks for the golden arches signage, and spots one. We pull off the highway and she talks into that TV like screen, and shares with the disembodied speaker voice, what she wants.

Disembodied Voice: I'm sorry, we don't sell lattes here

Maggie: Okay ... and as she pulls away from the building, she says to me, What kind of McDonald's doesn't have lattes? This cracks me up, because determination and Maggie go hand in hand, and nothing is going to stop her from getting those lattes!

We are back on the highway, and on the hunt.

Maggie: Is that a McDonalds?, is that a McDonalds? She says this while she steers into an exit that leads to a gas bar and En Route restaurants. They have a Wendy's, and I suggest maybe we try to get them to exchange our fraudulent lattes for the real deal. We both laugh, as she continues the completion of our semi-circle, in, and then out, minus a remedy for our drink situation. We are on the road once more. 

You would think, dear reader, that the time and effort required to replace the drinks purchased, would be considered as a trade off for new ones, meaning, aren't we spending extra time and money to replace or fix what is broken? I admit, i would have poured out my drink, absorbed the cost, and shrugged off the disappointment, forgetting about it almost immediately. I also admit, that this attitude may be the very one, that has helped with the drop in our expectations of excellence, for and from one another. Have we become accustomed to mediocrity, to the point of not even noticing how it has taken over our thinking, diminishing our desire to want and have, the very best for ourselves, and for others too? Maggie is teaching me a lesson, and she is exactly right: it is the principle of the thing!

We have arrived in Mississauga, and I spot the gold coloured M ... I point it out and Maggie beelines toward it. She will get us those lattes, and we will enjoy them too! We are at the familiar talking screen, and Maggie explains our dilemma (it feels hyperbolic to call our situation a dilemma, or a situation for that matter - it felt more like a mission at this point!). The woman at the window understands we did not purchase our drinks at this location, and needs to speak to a manager. Maggie is muttering, sotto voce, You're a McDonalds ... she is fugitively getting ready for a feisty argument if the employees dare to refuse her replacement request. 

We hear confirmation, that yes indeed, two frothy hot lattes will await us at the service window. Not only that, but as we pass the ladies at the window our old poisonous original versions of the drink, and Maggie begins to explain again what happened, the manager is very comforting and reassuring, It is okay, we give you the drinks, it is okay, giving us a sense that we were not only heard, but understood too. 

Maggie is a petite and adorable creature. She is a stellar human being, and despite her stature, she tippy toe reaches for the top shelf. She will climb to the top and look at the view from there and always see and want the very best, not only for herself, but for everyone she holds near and dear in her life. I have seen her repeatedly, ask others to step-up, to not only try but actually do their very best. She never stops short of fabulous and I do believe, that in relationship with Maggie, her iron sharpens mine. 

Our lattes were absolutely delicious, and worth the effort that turned into a fun game for both of us, and as I stated previously, a lesson for me. 

Cheers to Maggie, and all the people that along the way, show us to not only expect the best, but to strive for excellence in all we do. 

NOTE: I often fib to myself that one day of dairy isn't going to hurt me: invariably it causes congestion sinus headaches because hello, if a person is sensitive to something, it does't just go away because we pretend it will! Dairy consumption affects me, period.