Happy Birthday 7-11

Today is free Slurpee day at 7-11!

Did you know that I have a special fondness

for 7-11 for more than the free Slurpee's...

weird isn't it???

Let me tell you a few stories.

My mom and dad, oddly enough, met at 7-11. My dad was working there as a manager while trying to get a job after college. My mom lived just down the street and would stop their for odds and ends. They quickly became friends. Eventually as time passed, my dad asked my mom on a date. She refused because she wasn't attracted to him. He had those thick ugly glasses from 30 years ago. Well they continued to be friends and then one day my dad got contact lenses. All of a sudden my mom found herself attracted to him. So one day she decided to sit across the street from 7-11 in her car and to watch my dad work. She noticed how nice he was to the customers and how hard of a worker he was (so true). She was hooked and asked him out on a date (which was good since he had vowed not to do so ever again...yes a little stubborn). They were married for 23 years!

When I was little, I use to love doing everything with my dad. We went to the hardware store, to the grocery store, I helped him in the yard, hung out with him at work, and you guessed it, went to 7-11 with him. You see he loved drinking diet coke and back then you could get a Big Gulp for pretty cheap. There was a 7-11 close to his work so we would often go there for lunch. We would both get hot dogs. To drink, he got a Big Gulp and I was a big fan of the Slurpee. Now my mom would only let me get the small one, but sometimes my dad would let me get the next size up as a treat. I would have to drink it before my mom ever saw and hide it in the trash can so she wouldn't know. I remember it as a special secret between the both of us but I am sure my mom knew.

You see not only is it fun for me to get a free Slurpee today but it is sort of a day of remembrance.

• It was my dad's birthday (July 11th)

• It is the place where my parents fell in love
  

• It allows me to stop and remember the days when I had him by my side

After 13 years, I still miss him.