The Fast - Day 12

Friday, February 23, 2024

Spent the morning memorizing 1 Peter and turning Day 7’s poem into a song. Last night, Mike and I sat at the table like civilized humans, sincerely thanked God for our meal, and ate oatmeal with raisins. I’ve never seen Mike (who hates oatmeal) shovel so much oatmeal into his mouth so quickly, and he even said, “Mmm!”  I savored every morsel and made it last a good 30 minutes. Today I’m going to work at the hospital, and I need energy. I could have had oatmeal, but warm broth sounded better. As I was heating the broth, my eyes landed on a box of 7-grain pasta in the pantry, so I put some of that in the broth. I rationalized it by telling myself they’re basically the same as saltines. Then I searched the freezer and found a bag of freezer-burned mixed vegetables, so I put them in the pot too.  I”m being way more generous with myself than I intended to be, but not eating nearly as much as I’d like to be. I’m waiting for this pot of delicious nutrition to finish cooking, and it smells amazing. I'm grateful already. I usually multitask while I’m eating, but not during this fast. I’m fully present and appreciating every characteristic of every drop of food. I lick the bowl when the oatmeal is gone. I lick the inside of the saltine sleeve when it’s empty. Yogurt melts for dessert. Better than ice cream. I’m sorry I ever called them nasty.