McDonald's Sweet and Sour Sauce

It feels like it was only yesterday that our world (well, at least Sam's world) revolved around McDonald's Sweet and Sour sauce. It was a time when all he ate was chicken nuggets...not just from McDonald's, but also Banquet "original", not the kind from breast meat. I made the mistake of bringing home the breast meat kind and wasted a bag of nuggets. Anyway, the only way Sam liked the nuggets was with McDonald's brand sweet and sour....only. He did not like the store bought sweet and sour sauce.

Of course we couldn't go out to eat at McDonald's all the time, so we found creative ways of collecting this treasured sauce. We'd ask for two sauces whenever Sam got nuggets at McDonald's...one for now, one for later. Sometimes, Abby would get nuggets too, so we would ask for sauce for her and keep them for a later time for Sam (Abby did not have the same affinity for this sauce). We collected, saved and specially stashed our sweet and sour sauce. When we ran out, we were in TROUBLE. We'd make a mental note to make a run to McDonald's.

Sometimes the sauce caused problems. I would bring the extra packets home in my purse and they would get smashed and make a horrible mess. I've had them explode in the diaper bag and spill in our car. Two sauces stored together in a purse or diaper bag are disastrous! The corners are very sharp and they easily poke the foil in the other one. Of course, you wouldn't know this if you're life has never revolved around collecting sweet and sour sauce packets.

There were many days when I wished I could just buy it at the store...even at a premium! Anything would be easier than trying to collect the carefully rationed sauce! I remember when I worked at McDonald's, they were watching how much ketchup packets they gave out. When someone asked for ketchup, you were not to just give them a big handful and be done with it, you were to ask them how many they wanted. People would naturally say less than you thought they would. There was also a rule for the sauces: 1 sauce packet for the six piece chicken nuggets, 2 for the nine piece and 4 for the 20 piece. If someone asked for more, you would give it to them. If they wanted one for their french fries, you give it to them. The customer was the boss. Me being the ethically responsible person that I am, tried not to take too much advantage of this knowledge. Still, it was very tempting to say, "Can I have 10 sweet and sours????".

When did it all start to change? Everything ebbs and flows. Somehow, gradually, mysteriously, the sweet and sour lost it's importance in our family. As I look back, I can't even tell you how it happened. All I know, is that one time, it was such a big focus...and now, I have a sweet and sour packet in my house that will eventually get thrown away because of an expired shelf life. My son has moved on to ketchup like the rest of the human child race....available in abundance ketchup, buy it at the grocery store ketchup, don't need to beg, borrow or steal ketchup.

How many other struggles have I had that have disappeared without my notice? What else have I gotten over but not even acknowledged it? It's nice to think, that with any difficult time that seems to take all my focus...one day, I will wake up and realize it has passed. It may be something that ends in a big crescendo moment with great hoorah and celebration....or it could be like the sweet and sour quest that has slowly faded away, unnoticed.