Cocktail Break!

These are not actual cocktails that I’m having at the moment, and I would not actually have two at once, to be clear, but were I traveling near a beach I might be tempted to indulge. In truth, I only drink wine these days and it’s been years since I’ve had a colorful cocktail like these. It’s been so long, in fact, that I couldn’t even guess what would be in them to make those bright colors. The one on the right might be something like a Cosmopolitan, a drink I had in the late 90’s when a show called Sex In The City made it popular. I’ve no idea what the blue drink would be, but edible blue things are always a fun curiosity since that color doesn’t exist naturally in food. And a cocktail is the one time I don’t even have to bother with worrying about what’s in it and if it’s actually healthy. That’s a line I’ve already happily crossed, so anything goes really. These do make me wish I were next to a beach, sipping away in the middle of the afternoon with no cares at all, instead of having to return to work tomorrow morning. So it’s a wonderful way to indulge, even if, as ever, it’s simply in my imagination.

Years ago, I was on a business trip in Miami and we stayed in a boutique hotel in South Beach. It overlooked the Versace Mansion, but was itself rather less opulent. It was actually on this trip that I had my first mango mojito and quickly discovered I was quite allergic to mango. But beyond the brief moments before Benadryl when my lips looked like a Hollywood celebrity’s fresh out of plastic surgery, the trip was actually quite fun. I don’t travel as much for work these days, but back then it was an all too regular thing. While it was fun to see new places, the constant social interactions were a little overwhelming for my inner introvert, so a cocktail felt like a reward of sorts for surviving it all. Only once did I have one too many and I’ve still no idea what I said in that client dinner meeting. But, we ended up doubling the size of the account, so it must have been brilliant. Even with that dubious success, it was not enough to propel me to try again. These days, I’m happiest with my simple little glass of wine and no evening meetings at all to endure.

But if I did have the luxury of spending a glorious day on the beach, and no particular schedule to adhere to, I would definitely try one of these again. One would be plenty to remind me of all those previous little adventures of my youth. And that’s the fun bit about vacations. All of the daily grind and rules we have to adhere to each and every regular day are torn to bits as we simply experience whatever is happening in the moment. It’s a wonderful feeling of pure celebration that makes every moment so much more enjoyable. I love that sense of losing time and place and just being somewhere fun and soaking up every little new sight and sound that’s around me. There’s always those wonderful moments of reflection, where I’m reminded that life is pretty awesome and the world we live in is rather amazing. I feel that much of the time, but it’s rather heightened when you get a chance to break from the norm and experience life outside a daily routine. And this is an act, that I highly encourage, that never actually requires alcohol. Just take a step outside your normal routine and try something brand new. That, in the end, is the real definition of cocktail break!

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Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash®, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group™, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing daily watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world! If you’d like to be a guest artist on Doodlewash.com, contact me!