Food Obligated

I've talked about automatic food re-buying before.  This is another, related topic. People like to show how much they care, and sometimes that's done with food.  We bring dishes to people who are ill or for parties, or to welcome someone to a new home.  Over the years, I've been introduced to some foods I wouldn't have tried on my own through kind gifts of food.

Recently, when we had our daughter, our builder came over with some home-made chicken salad.  I've never liked chicken salad.  But because this it was a gift, I felt obligated to not only eat it, but finish it all.  Let me tell you, I'm a changed person because of that chicken salad.  It was fantastic and I was sad when it was gone. I am now a converted chicken salad lover.

However, I have an issue with gifts of food.  They come with an unspoken obligation to use or eat the item.  Have you ever had someone come over to visit and bring seven cucumbers from their garden because they had so many extra?  I look at them and think, "what am I going to go to use up seven cucumbers?  I've never bought more than two cucumbers at a time."  I don't want them to go bad, but I don't think I can eat them that quickly.  In short, I feel obligated to the item because it was a gift.

It's hard to not accept gifts of food, even if it's something you'd normally never use.  Recently, a good friend made a dish and had something like a dozen egg whites left over.  She brought them over in case we could use them because she didn't want to waste them.  If I didn't take them, it feels like I'm saying the food should be wasted and thrown out.  But after accepting the egg whites, I feel obligated to do something with them.   In this case, there's a good ending to this story.  I made some meringue cookies and my in-laws loved them. 

As I was thinking about what I was going to write here as I made a cup of Earl Grey tea, I had to remind myself this is a place for positive thoughts, not negative thinking.  Or so that's my vision and plan. I didn't pick this topic to complain.  It's sometimes trying different things that cause us to grow.  Even if we didn't want to grown in that direction.

In summary, gifts of food can be a kindness, but think twice about the person when deciding if it makes sense with their food and cooking habits to drop off say,two pounds of string beans and your excess mixed nuts from the holidays.  Consider if you'll be food obligating them with an item they may not really want.

The Big Boy Update:  Not so fatty anymore.  Uncle Jon took to calling him "Fatty" when he was about six months old.  He was quite cute in his baby fat and it was a name that was used in kindness, not as an insult.  He's still got that nickname (which we'll have to drop once he understands it,) but he doesn't really meet the name requirements anymore.  I just looked over at the digital frame beside me and realized he's lost a lot of the girth he had months ago due to his more active, toddler lifestyle. 


The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  On the topic of size, she's gotten to the bloated belly point.  When they're born, babies have a nice thin tummy area.   As they eat more and more in one setting, their mid-section bloats out like an overweight middle-aged man.  No, you're not putting the diapers on too tight and restricting their hip-growth, it's just part of this age.  Speaking of eating, last night she ate at 9PM and then didn't wake up until 8AM.  She eliminated the one middle-of-the-night meal all by herself.  My husband went up and checked on her three times to make sure she was okay.  At eight this morning she ate very well.  Here's hoping this sleeping through the night trend continues.  GO baby girl!