Nothing like a cold drink...

I had an experience the other day that took me back to childhood. I filled a big glass of ice water and immediately started to it chug in an attempt quench a monster thirst. As I downed the pint glass of water I noticed that as I reached the end of the glass the water was much colder then the original few gulps. Immediately I was drawn back to a moment in my youth.

I remember many times as a kid having a glass of kool-aid on a hot summer day. Often the kool-aid was warm and the attending adult would add a few ice cubes to cool the drink down for me. When I was young I required immediate satisfaction when I was thirsty, and typically gulped the small glass of liquid down in a few large swallows. I always noticed that the last gulp was cold and the first was warm. I remember, even as a child, that I scolded myself for not being more patient in drinking my kool-aid. If I just had the patience to wait, the first gulp would have been as cold as the last.

As an adult who understands the way things work, I can't help but look back at childhood and smile. Adults recognize that the quantity of liquid and the surface area of the ice play a direct role in the temperature of a liquid. Less liquid over more ice makes for a colder beverage. More liquid over less ice has the opposite effect. It's a simple rule of nature. As a child who has no grasp on the mechanics of how things work in nature, I blamed my warm beverage on haste.

So many things change as you age. You gain wisdom, and patience and come to understand the mechanics of how things work. You lose the the simple ideas and solutions that a child creates to explain the nature of things. Some things never change... like the desire to chug a beverage to satisfy an overwhelming thirst.

- ND