Leftovers

Tonight was similar to most any other night at our house.  I had dinner with my wife and daughter and afterwards, my wife and I were cleaning up in the kitchen.  I had already enjoyed a great dinner and was thankful for our meal together.

My daughter hadn’t quite eaten all of her food so I took it upon myself to “help her” clean her plate.  It would be a shame to let all of that food go to waste.  So, I didn’t let it go to waste...I ate it.  

Now I was full, but happy to do my part to help the family.  And then it happened...

As my wife was trying to put the chili into a storage container she realized that it wouldn’t fit.  She turned and looked at me as if to say, “Our family needs you!”  She didn’t actually say this, but I got the message - loud and clear!  It’s go time!

Danger was lurking about in our kitchen in the form of a small storage container and a large pot of chili.  “Not on my watch, small storage container.  You’ve met your match!”

So, I sprang into action...for the family.  I proceeded to eat about another bowl and a half of chili.  Was I hungry?  No.  Had I planned to eat until I was near blackout stage?  No.  But, did my family need me?  Yes, yes they did.  I don’t consider myself a hero, though that word has been thrown around at times.  I just do what needs to be done.  I guess you could say that I just love my family.  Of that I am guilty and I’m also a little nauseous at this point.  

I basically just ate about 6 meals in the span of 20 minutes, but I did it for love.  Unfortunately, I’ve realized that I do this quite often.  There is the last bit of pancakes for breakfast that can’t be tossed.  The last of the banana at snack time.  It’s the remains of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and it’s the “seconds” that weren’t even touched.  My daughter needs me.  I’m not sure what the fear is regarding throwing a bit of food away - or why we can’t just get larger storage containers?  Nevertheless, there is a job that needs to be done.

I don’t normally count calories, but I’ve done some quick calculations and it seems that I’m way over what medical personnel would recommend.  I should be getting about 2,200 calories each day and on my own plate, I’m doin’ alright (about 1,800 calories).  When I count how much food I put away for the family, it comes to about 7,300 calories per day.  That's not good...at all.  If I were a hero, I'd have to worry about my Lycra suit still fitting.


If I keep this pace up, I’ll have my own show on TLC by the Spring.

Here’s to cleaning your own plate...and being a hero!

JJ