$60 Ice Cream Cone

I've always known what an indecisive person I am. Right? Yes. Am I? Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm indecisive. What makes me so indecisive? Appropriately enough, I'm not sure. I've put a lot of thought into this. Normally, I would think indecisiveness would be a manifestation of insecurity. Right? But I’m not insecure. That can’t be it. I just don’t know…

This indecisiveness affects many different levels of my life. From my choice of college major (general studies) to every-day decisions. Ordering from a menu is generally a torturous experience for me. Beef? Chicken? Beef? CHICKEN? BEEF??? CHICKEN????? AGH!!!!!

Naturally, I usually end up asking Tim to pick something and I’ll split the plate.

This reoccurring indecision plagued me again last night. Yesterday was “Free Cone Day” at all Ben and Jerry’s scoop shops from 12-8pm. Let me start by telling you that I. Love. Ben. And. Jerry’s. Seriously. I’ve had this marked on my calendar for a month now. The only scoop shops “close to me” are each about 20 miles away. No matter, I wanted that free cone.

Tim and I finished dinner at 7 last night, and with only an hour left to nab my sweet treat, I threw on a jacket and we loaded into his truck. And it was raining. No, STORMING.

“That’s okay,” I thought, “Since when would a thunderstorm stop me from driving 20 miles to get a free ice cream cone? Onward ho…” 2 miles later, we’d hydroplaned about 5 times. My sweet husband, undeterred, still hadn’t complained about any of this, which was starting to make me feel guilty. Was I crazy? 20 miles in a thunderstorm to get a free ice cream cone?

“It’s STORMING!” I thought.

“It’s Ben and Jerry’s!” I reasoned.

“It’s 20 miles! That’s like 2 gallons of gas!” Thrifty Meagan just showed up.

“Chunky Monkey! Banana ice cream with walnuts and fudge chunks!” Pudgy Meagan fought back.

Tim, oblivious to my internal struggle, sat singing along to the radio as the rain beat down on our truck. As we sat at the red light on the corner, I stared at the Walmart through the rain-stripped windows. Finally:

Meagan- “You know what, nevermind this. Let’s just go to Walmart and buy a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.”

Tim- “What?”

Meagan- “Well, it’s pouring rain. It’s 20 miles away. If it keeps raining like this, we might not even make it there by 8. It will take us an hour and a half to get there, eat our cones, and get back, and we’ll spend $5 in gas. Why pay $5 worth of gas for a free ice cream cone? Technically, it wouldn’t even be free anymore. Let’s just run into Walmart and buy a pint for $2.75 and call it a day.”

Tim- “Are you sure?”

Meagan- “No, because if we go to the scoop shop we don’t just get the ice cream, we get a cone, too!”

Tim- “Okay, but we can buy cones at Walmart.”

Meagan- “I know, but Ben and Jerry’s have THE BEST waffle cones. They are SO good.”

The light turns green.

Tim- “Let’s make a decision here”

Meagan- “Okay, yes. Let’s just go to Wal-Mart. Cheaper and faster. Done.”

An hour later, we left Walmart with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream. And $60 worth of groceries. I give up.