I guess I can’t really say that I was starving. Hungry, yes, but starving – no. Yesterday was a regular day, albeit feeling a bit tired. My 1 mile swim could have been longer and faster but I didn’t feel like it. I went to visit my dad, went to work and out to lunch. I had a salad with some salmon. Talked with my lawyer/friend on the phone in the afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary.
By 4:30 I was feeling weird. Hungry. I grab some almonds from my desk but that doesn’t seem to be enough. I decide by 5 to leave and go home, have dinner and head to the baseball field.
As I’m driving home, my hunger gets worse. I’m talking on the phone and I realize that I’m having trouble concentrating. I get off and focus on my driving. All I can think about is what I can quickly make to eat when I get there.
I pull into the garage and realize that I can’t even take the time to unload the car … I’ve got to get some food. I literally leave my purse and phone in the car (unheard of for me). I can hardly focus on what I am doing.
I get in and eat. I have two pieces of toast with peanut butter, a salad and some milk (plus a cookie). I start to feel better. Then it hits me … and I begin to feel sick and my eyes tear up.
This is what it must be like. This is how it feels for those people who can’t run home and get food. Those that don’t have money. Those people who really are hungry or starving. How can they learn? How can they concentrate? How can life feel ok when they are so hungry? That singular feeling of being hungry is overwhelming. How have I missed that before? It’s not like there haven’t been other days when I was hungry.
I’ve got to pay more attention and keep my eyes open. I’ve got to stay present and remember, and remind my children, how incredibly fortunate we are to be able to open our refrigerator, have a glass of fresh, cold milk, make a sandwich and have a bowl of ice cream. I always knew that, but now I have very strong feeling about it too.
Let’s make a point today of being thankful for what’s in our house. Our ability to get up, feed ourselves and our children and enjoy our day without being focused on hunger. Maybe one or more of us will find a way to make a difference in that regard for someone else.
Hmm, that was some lesson on what seemed like a very ordinary day.
Have a wonderful Thursday!
theyearof50 