Weather report

Vacations are an interesting barometer. I'm doing all the things I never do, never get to do, never even think of doing...

The first night was all-you-can-eat crab legs. I haven't had all-you-can-eat anything in so long I can't remember. Why would I? All I need to eat is plenty. It was decadent (and delicious) and as I watched my son and daughter-in-law and grandson, I felt a bittersweet composite of connection and separation. I'm certainly no Mother Theresa, but my enjoyment of a food I definitely love and rarely eat now, was spoiled by a nagging thought of how many people would this much food feed?

The meal also brought back memories of dinners with my ex-husband. Red Lobster would have these specials from time to time. We would skip the salad and baked potato and tuck into the crab, laying up leg after leg as trophies on the plate. Who could eat the most? I almost never could, pitted against a six foot man with a hollow leg, but I often came a close second. To what end? To hasten my cholesterol problems? Is the all-you-can-eat special an American tradition? Did we invent this self-inflicted punishment on our bodies? I wonder what unspoken need underlies our delight in such things.

Day two brought a gift from my daughter-in-law... a trip to the spa for a pedicure. I used to treat myself when I worked full-time. Now I must rely on the sweet intuition of the daughters I never had. Both of them are savvy, and this is the second pedicure I've been gifted with in my three years in community. The first one shocked my sisters when I arrived home with what I thought were sedately painted toes... but sedate is in the eye of the beholder. I quickly put my socks back on at their disapproval. This one I'll enjoy all week before I must consider how inappropriate it must look to be a nun with painted toes.

Day three was a shopping trip to an oulet mall (I got a new watch for $7) and lunch at Wild Buffalo Wings. Asian zingy spice and medium hot wings... sauce smeared on fingers and lips as we laughed and ate and laughed some more. There's a trivia game that anyone can play. The questions pop up on moniters scattered around the restaurant and each contestant selects his answer on his own little computer pad. We played this same game years ago when I visited, and I laughed at the fierce competion between my son and his wife. Some things don't change. But maybe for me they have. I seem to have lost my edge for competition, as well as my ability to eat it all.

It's the early morning of day four. I wonder what the barometer will show me today.