Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Picture this: I am at a nice family dinner one uneventful Friday evening. The whole family is talking, laughing, and having a great time. The food is delicious and I already had seconds of the creamy mashed potatoes. The dinner slowly winds down, and I start to relax while enjoying my now bloated stomach. Then, all of a sudden, my younger brother picks up his completely full glass of water. I shudder, for I already know what is coming. I watch, in slow motion, as he puts the glass to his lips and then brace myself for what is about to happen. A split second of silence and then there it is…Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! The sound of my brother chugging down his water like he won't live another day. As crazy as it sounds, this is a huge pet peeve of mine.

This pet peeve started when I was younger and just continued to increase as I went along my fabulous life. My family and I are very active. We were always outside playing basketball or football whenever we got the chance. On really humid days, we would come charging into the house like buffalo to grab water and a snack. I would stand and drink my water, as my brothers would sit there and gulp down their water till the bottle was empty! I used to just stand there and grimace until they were finally done.

Perhaps the reason that I have become so annoyed by people chugging water is because I have five brothers who all like to drive me crazy. Naturally, they ignored my pleas to peacefully drink their water, instead gulping as fast and as loud as they could. The sound of them gulping just horrifies me and makes my insides churn. Not only is the sound frustrating but the sight of the boys' adams apple bobbing up and down would also disturb me enough to leave the room.

I have come to discover though that I can yell at my brothers for being annoying, but not at other people. How do you tell someone to please calmly sip their water instead of gulping it down? My answer is that you cannot. Instead I have perfected my facial expressions to where I no longer flinch after hearing or seeing my friends gulp down their drinks. If someone would look at my face or appearance, they would never know that behind the smile was the look of disgust. After all, it is not really their fault that I cannot stand the sound of gulping fluids.

After many long and serious days of contemplation on why this situation creates such turmoil for me, I have decided there is not an explanation. I simply just am unable to stand the sound of the gulping or the sight of the adam’s apple bobbing. Maybe one day I will able to recover and gulp drinks down myself. Until that day though, it will remain as one of the most annoying and frustrating pet peeves on my list. So please remember, it does not hurt to take your time while drinking your fluids!