One of the things I miss most from my childhood is bubbles.

Bubbles are awesome and shiny and they float. Anybody can play with bubbles. They aren’t for just boys or just girls. They aren’t fancy or expensive so anybody can afford them. They don’t need batteries or an outlet or instructions or a service plan.

They don’t require software updates. They never get bugs or glitches or prompt you to sign a 2 year contract. Nobody ever calls bubble tech support. Nobody ever needs to order a replacement part for their bubble apparatus. Nobody ever loses at bubbles.

All you do is dip the wand and blow. If you blow too hard, your bubble will break. But never fear! You can always make more. And if you’ve really got bubble-blowing talent, you can get a bigger wand!

Bubbles are completely uncomplicated.

I could play with bubbles for hours as a kid, but now I’m consumed with bills and healthcare and office politics. That shit really eats into my bubble-blowing time.

My godmother, bless her heart, never gave up on bubbles. She always has a bottle or 3 stashed in her house for whenever the bubble mood strikes, ready to whip them out at a moment’s notice.

What she knew all along was that bubbles make everybody happy. There are no depressed bubble-blowers. And since that’s true, there is no good reason to forsake them as an adult.

Let’s be real. Is it better to unwind after a stressful day by drinking a few too many at a bar, sending regretful texts, and making some bad decisions resulting in a wicked weekend-long hangover or kicking back in a lawn chair with some bubbles?

I can sense you’re not convinced.

Okay, well perhaps I can make it worth your while. What if you could DRINK your bubbles?

Replace that Long Island iced tea with a Willy Wonka-esque fizzy lifting drink. It may not make you fly like Charlie, but its fizzy goodness and provocation to burp will make you smile.

And it’s delicious with vodka in it too.

Vanilla Fizzy Lifting Drink Recipe

Makes 2 liters. Adapted from The History Kitchen

1 c sugar
1/2 c filtered water
1 1/2 vanilla beans, scraped
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp lemon juice, strained to remove pulp
7 c filtered water
vodka, for an adult lift

Notes for your perusal

The fizzy lifting drink should be made in a plastic bottle. No glass containers. The drink is super fizzy, which means lots of gas, which means lots of pressure. If the plastic bottle explodes, worst case you have a big mess. If the glass bottle explodes, worst case you go to the hospital.

For the vanilla syrup

Combine sugar, 1/2 c water and vanilla beans (along with scraped insides) in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved. After sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat. Let sit for 1 hour, then strain. To make it easier to strain, I heat up the syrup a bit until it becomes runny again then pour it through the sieve. If you want to make sure to remove every speck of vanilla seeds, use cheesecloth.

For the fizzy lifting drink

In a 2 liter plastic bottle, combine vanilla bean syrup, yeast, lemon juice and 7 c water. Seal bottle and gently shake until yeast is dissolved and ingredients are combined.

Place bottle in dark cool place for 3-5 days. Fizzy lifting drink is ready when bottle becomes very hard (due to the pressure of the gas) and tiny bubbles appear around the rim of the liquid.

Once ready, pour fizzy lifting drink over ice or store in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process. If you plan to store it in the fridge for more than 3 days before drinking, loosen the cap a little to release a bit of the gas then retighten. This will prevent the drink from exploding under the pressure. Like I said, it’s REALLY fizzy.

How fizzy you ask? This fizzy.