I am currently on a vacation in my hometown in New Brunswick. It is always great coming home but I have noticed a lot of my memories of this place I call home revolve around food.
From my favorite convenience store to buy treats when penny candies actually cost a penny, that has since had several transformations, from a strip club, to car dealership, and now an Insurance establishment. I have a vivid memories of buying strawberry marshmallow candies and sitting on the side of the King George Highway and throwing them onto the road, watching them get sucked up into passing vehicles (which now that I think about it I’m not even sure that’s mechanically possible…but away they went). My sincerest apologies to those vehicles I may have wrecked with that marshmallow-y goodness.
To the old bowling alley that held countless birthday parties and fun gatherings where I would indulge in snacks and concoction we called “Swamp Water” (a mixture of all flavors of pop) and play Street Fighter and Pac-man video games that has since transformed into an all you can eat Chinese buffet/Mattress Store/Call Center (How’s THAT for diversity!?).
To the frozen yogurt place in the mall that served my favorite chocolate frozen yogurt with sprinkles, that has long gone and now stands a cell phone kiosk in it’s delicious shadow.
To the Greco Pizza place that is now headquarters to the Progressive Conservative Party. Many a party pizza were consumed from that establishment.
Though some favorites are long gone, some remain; the Cunard (Chinese food), Pizza Delight, and a grocery store with ample supply of Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch Ice Cream, to name a few.
It’s funny that none of these establishments were known for their salads. All the pieces of my childhood and lifelong obesity are coming together!
Home is where the heart is, but home is also a place where my bad habits and dysfunctional relationship with food began. Food has the ability to elicit vivid memories of time spent with family and friends, but it also reminds me of the amount of comfort I sought in my old friend food. Looking back at old childhood pictures, my dysfunctional relationship with food was as obvious as my multiple chins.
The challenge is to not fall into old dysfunctional habits. It can be a slippery slope, and the “When in Rome” mentality kicks in; “When in Rome, eat your face off!”. I am trying to maintain a balance of indulgence with other healthy food choices and exercise, although these last few days have been a bust, with Halloween Candy, Cunard, and Pizza Delight, oh my! I realize it’s okay to indulge once in awhile, and I need to cut myself some slack, but knowing my addictive personality if I don’t reign things in soon, things could get ugly. Or delicious, depending on how you look at it…
I’ve also been struggling with mindless eating, as my normally busy schedule at home has been replaced with a LOT of down time. You know what they say about idle hands; they’re good for holding utensils. I have parked my arse (here comes my east coast twang) on the couch and have become a seasoned pro at 19 Kids and Counting and could probably recite all of their names without much thought (Jim bob, Jimmy Jim Jim, Jeremiah Jim, Jim-ella, Jim-a-lama-ding-dong…am I close?). Don’t get me wrong, this time away was much needed as I was running myself into the ground with my busy schedule and not handling additional stress well..or at all, but I need to remind myself that this vacation is to take care of myself and give myself a mental break, not to sabotage years of progress by reverting back to old habits.
Being home is sweet, but I don’t need to give myself diabetes in the process.
putdowntheforkgetoffyourass.wordpress.com 