We had a 2-hour delay last week due to fog. (YEAH! Even teachers love a 2-hour delay every now and then.) Normally, our 2-hour delay mornings are as crazy and rushed as our go-on-time mornings. But this morning? This morning we were both ready by 8:30 a.m. That’s a whole half hour earlier than our goal time! What do we do with that extra time? Get breakfast! Where do we get our breakfast? McDonald’s! (Having a gift card was a major component in our my decision.)

Because we rarely get breakfast out, it didn’t phase me that Luke’s usual breakfast beverage- orange juice- probably wasn’t the best decision with its high fast-acting sugar content, especially right before school. So I let him get Diet Coke.

I know, I know.

As we were driving off after getting our order, I took a sip of my Diet Coke. It wasn’t Diet Coke.

“Um, Luke… test your drink before you drink it.”

Test your drink? What do you mean test your drink? When we go through a drive thru, I very rarely trust the workers to give us diet soda. Don’t get me wrong. They usually get it right. And I’m grateful for that. However, what if they don’t? What if, even though we ordered Diet Coke, they didn’t give him Diet Coke? Luke’s sugar could spike, making an awful day at school. Or worse. So when I tell Luke to test his drink, I mean use his blood glucose meter. I mean dip a test strip in his drink and see what the reading is. If it reads “LO” it’s Diet Coke. If it has a number… a high number… it means it’s regular Coke.

This morning was confirmation that wasting a test strip each time we go through a drive thru is worth it.

Luke (and I) were given regular Coke. Fortunately, I had a lot of time to spare this morning, so I went back to switch out our drinks and to educate the McDonald’s staff.  I thought it was fortunate that the manager was the one at the counter. I explained to her that my 12-year-old son had Type 1 Diabetes and if we hadn’t tested his soda, his sugar would have skyrocketed and, worse case scenario, it could have landed him in the hospital. I told her I wasn’t angry, but wanted her and her staff to be aware that not everyone orders diet soda because they are counting calories or prefer the taste. She nodded and apologized. Unfortunately, I am fairly certain it went in one ear and out the other. As far as I saw/heard while I was rinsing out Luke’s cup and switching out the soda at the self-serve soda station, she didn’t talk to any of her employees about it. Not even the one in charge of doing drive-thru drinks.

The moral of the story: Trust your gut. And don’t feel silly when you test your soda and/or ask your server a million times if it truly is diet soda.