A Christmas Message
I posted this on my forum and didn't realize how true it was until I'd re-read it for the 100th time.
This Christmas (and I play the whole thing by ear, letting everyone else have their way with Christmas first, before I do mine, which is lame, a fact everyone is well aware of by now) I'm making poutine with a large all white turkey breast that cost $22.00.
Now, I used to make an effort to introduce some health into my Christmas dinners, but as that went not-so-quietly unappreciated, I am going for broke this Christmas with poutine for sheer delight, Stove Top stuffing for that Christmassy smell, and homemade cranberry sauce - mostly so I can cook it in undiluted orange juice concentrate AND maple syrup. But really, if it is even human(e)ly possible to do, I believe I have succeeded in upping the Christmas dinner ante with poutine added to the menu.
Am I right? Of course I am. Frozen fries, lots of curds, and turkey gravy made with the butter drippings I coated the turkey breast skin in and a can of turkey gravy added for - yup - that Christmassy smell.
What is alarming (or not, even, I guess I'm so far down that road already) is that I used not to care how loved I was and would never have used food to buy devotion. That's how one survives the toddler years, Dear Reader, although people don't like to admit it. You can only love people at that time in their lives, you cannot expect love back and you show your love through healthy meals that make no attempt at indulgence.
And I was happy with the one way love flow. It didn't bother me a bit. In fact, it was the least of my concerns. Meals were healthy because health mattered to me - not love.
But then, as life happens, so too does the inevitable and all that goes with it. For women, it's easy. As we get older, we buy love back. It's an overnight thing, too, so your loved ones really don't see it coming. One day, you're the Belle of the Ball and love is just another thing to juggle, the next - you're trying to clog everyone's arteries with it.
And it works. It's pathetic, manipulative, possibly even murderous. But it works. Because your loved ones are getting older, too, and they want that special someone they trust more than anyone with their very lives to go the extra food mile and add poutine to the Christmas dinner menu.
Love really is a terrible thing at the end of the day - isn't it?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Dear Reader.
