I haven’t been tummy sick for three years. I generally eat healthy with very few processed foods, nothing packaged, nothing fried, no four legged animals. When I eat something too heavy or fatty, my system lets me know. It rejects it mid process, saying “Enough, no more.” It’s not like it happened overnight. It’s not like I had no warning. The last 12 months I’d begun eating bread again, rediscovering sandwiches and eating them almost every day. That in itself is heavy for me. I began drinking coffee and Teechino almost daily, with milk. That’s good for 15 extra pounds a year later. I’d also begun enjoying tasty fried catfish. I’d gone seven years of absolutely no fried anything to eating it once or twice a month without guilt. Yesterday was one of those days.  

Just last week I finally cut out bread again and began to eat lighter. On the way back from delivering magazines to Cassadaga on Memorial Day, we stopped at The Dao, a favorite Sushi bar restaurant by the house. They have a big selection of freshly made sushi as well as the hot dishes you’d find in a Chinese buffet. And fried fish. I always get the same thing. Edamame beans in their shell, cucumber salad, volcano roll and shrimp tempura sushi, string beans, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, a few shrimp and a couple of pieces of fried fish. Yesterday I had wonton soup also with two wontons, which are pork. And by the end of the meal I’d eaten three pieces of fish. The man thought it was greasy but I didn’t agree as I was mesmerized by the taste. But he was right.  And I could have eaten just one piece but NO, I had to have two pieces for dessert.

Four hours later, I began sweating with nausea and chills. My tummy rumbled and a four hour dance began of being up every 15 minutes purging my body. The madness stopped by 10pm leaving me drained. I slept on the couch.  It was a teaching moment for me.  I’d slacked off my good eating habits for a year.  Now that I was sufficiently motivated, it would be easy to get back on track.

It was a teaching moment for Benny the Cat as well.  He got tired of me not opening the back door for him last night so he began going in and out the cat door on his own, which I usually have to stuff him thru. I saw him on the porch twice but didn’t have the energy to walk over and open the door. He began making a ruckus since he knew I’d seen him. I fell asleep to the sound of him pawing at the glass and merping angry quips at me. I woke up and Ben had come in the cat door with a frog, which I liberated when he jumped on my leg.  In the next 4 hours, he was in and out the cat door 4-5 times. So Benny has the cat door phobia over with I think. Necessity is the mother of invention.  Yay for teaching moments.