Always drink your water!

Allow me to digress and tell you a story from a vacation I took in 2020. Yeah, yeah, I know....a vacation in 2020 doesn't seem like a wise choice in hindsight, but here we are.

My then-boyfriend and I went with another couple to Pensacola, Florida, for a weekend trip. We had dinner one evening at Peg Leg Pete's, a very popular spot. The wait was two hours, so we grabbed a table near the bar. Now, for whatever reason, I was drinking Long Island Iced Teas on this trip. I normally don't drink these. Let me assure you, they are STRONG, made with at least five different liquors. Well, I'm not sure how many I had at Peg Leg Pete's, but by the time we arrived at the restaurant I was already feeling no pain. I'd known the boyfriend for maybe a little over two months, and I had no idea how he reacted to drinking, so I became concerned that maybe he was an angry drunk. He never displayed this kind of behavior, but in my brain, this is what I was thinking. Therefore, I told him to start drinking water, and told him, and told him, and told him. I continued to tell him "drink yo watah!" over and over with my New Jersey accent, which apparently resurfaces with alcohol consumption. This diatribe was wildly funny to everyone I was with. It was so insistent by me that my friend had a t-shirt made to commemorate it. Thanks, Pat! When the boyfriend finally told me "YOU drink YOUR water!," I grabbed my glass protectively and replied, "No, I'm saving it for my dinner!"

My friend Pat and I go out frequently together. Now she never fails to slip in the "drink yo watah!" directive every time I order a glass. Sometimes when other people order a glass too.

Is there a moral to this story? I'm not sure. I don't think so. If there is perhaps it's to stay hydrated. Or keep your mouth shut. Or stop ordering Long Island Iced Teas.