Parents, co-sign if you can relate. If I cook a large portion of, let’s say macaroni and cheese, my kids will eat one serving, and I’m left dishing leftovers into plastic containers. But, if I make just enough for the three of us, they want seconds. It’s as though they have some sort of radar that alerts their stomachs that there’s no more and puts them in starvation mode.
It annoys me but then I got to thinking about it, I realized we adults aren’t much different. I saw a study once that found grocery store shoppers are much more likely to purchase an item that appears to be running out, even if it wasn’t on their original shopping list.
A shortage of any kind increases our desire for what’s lacking and since this is a family blog site, I won’t go any deeper than that. So let’s the turn the subject back to something else I’m fond of… food.
I haven’t eaten bacon in 20 odd years but when I heard there was a shortage due to a pig virus, (which should be enough to keep me from ever revisiting the idea of eating it again) I went into a panic. I stared at the frying pan and visions of BLT sandwiches danced in my head.
And it only got worse. The same week, climate conditions were threatening the availability of two other food items, avocados and limes. Now suddenly I’m craving BLTs with avocado and a Mojito with a slice of key lime pie for dessert. Somebody stop me.
I can’t sleep. I’m wondering how I can preserve the two limes I have on my counter until this cuisine calamity ends. I open my laptop, Google food shortages and break out in a cold sweat: beef and pork, (I’m a vegetarian but why get technical?, shrimp (my lifeblood) oranges (my son can’t survive without orange juice) lettuce (are you kidding me?) and milk (am I being cursed for not breast-feeding my boys?)
There had to be lesson in this somewhere. And there was:
Enjoy every good moment, every good meal and every good opportunity as though you’ll never get another shot at it. It doesn’t mean to over do, it doesn’t mean to be gluttonous, it doesn’t mean to hoard, but simply to recognize appreciate, and savor what life has to offer.
It’s changed the way I look at everything from salads to little league baseball games even when they go into extra innings (or it just feels like there’s way more than 9). I take it all in and try to imagine what it would be like if only they served Mojitos in the stands.
What are some things you’ve learned to savor and why?
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
REGISTER NOW for the 2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion taking place August 28- September 1, 2014 in Orlando, Florida! For booking information, call 407-248-9191.
What a Food Shortage Taught Me About Savoring Limes and Life was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
