Breaking out the new silverware

When I knew I would be moving to a rural town, I stocked up on items I didn’t want to have to scramble to find. I also bought “things” to signify new beginnings; one was new silverware because I had a hodgepodge of unmatched eating utensils.

Six months after I moved, I changed to a gluten- and dairy-free diet. At first I thought I would have a dickens of a time finding GF and DF foods but there are companies out there. I found two of my staples: pasta and cookies. I compensated for the new taste of GF pasta by adding more herbs and a protein to the sauce. I balanced my sweet cravings, and switched the GF cookies to a half hour after breakfast, with tea. Check out the research that supports eating dessert early in the day rather than late at night.

About a month into the diet, I awoke in the middle of the night to realize that I had a set of new and unused silverware. The next morning I tore open the box, and remembered why I had purchased this set. It had a spoon the size of the one my grandmother used to give me to eat soup. Then it dawned on me that with this diet, I was now learning to take care of myself the way my grandmother did. A way in which I didn’t feel rushed and guilty in her kitchen as opposed to the way her daughter, my mother, made me feel in hers.

My grandmother’s soup spoons were meant for an adult mouth, so I could just about fit it into my child’s mouth. I loved that feeling and can place myself back at her table and feel it again and again. It made me feel as if I always had more than enough, and that I would always be well fed.

I looked again at my new spoon. It wasn’t as large as my grandmother’s, but it was large enough to scoop up memories and feed my hungry belly.