When one is the runt of the brood, fighting for every scrap of savory goodness becomes second nature. One can't just walk away from the kitchen if there is a cooling cheesecake on the counter; it's now or never.
When siblings visit, that old programming activates. Even though I'm not necessarily hungry, there is that grim determination to get "something" before the rest of them eat it all.
I hate going to bed on a full stomach; I am so uncomfortable, and it robs my sleep of true rest. But there's gefilte fish! I love gefite fish! But there's sweet chicken! I love sweet chicken! Oh, and just a piece, maybe two, tops, of zucchini kugel . . .
Last year, I was determined not to be os gechalisht. So, there's gefilte fish. I'll have it next Shabbos. So, there's sweet chicken. I'll have it another day, at a time when it can be enjoyed, not regretted. So, there's zucchini kugel. I'll have it tomorrow for lunch.
I only munched a bite or two during Shulchan Oreich, able to eat the afikoman with a hearty appetite, and go to bed light and airy. I stuffed my face at lunch the next day (the meal I apportion for stuffing my face), avoided snacking in the afternoon, and after dozing off with my nephew in the afternoon, managed to cheerfully sing "Chad Gadya" (complete with sound effects) at midnight without sobbing for my bed.
The sweet chicken was gone, without my having barely any. But, I decided, squelching the squealing internal voice of the cheated toddler, I am at least acting like a grown-up.
Ah, it was a joyful Pesach.
4 comments:
Pesach Sameach, girl!
Love,
S
www.sonushka.com
If only I had really, really listened to last year's me . . . I wouldn't be a sobbing puddle right now post weigh-in . . .
What does os gechalisht mean? And for what it is worth, your advice helped me eat less at the seders and I really was less tired. But, then I ate too much at lunch and snacked in the afternoon (sigh).
I googled "Gechalisht" to make sure I get the translation right, and only this post came up. Ha.
"Chalish," however, came up. It means "faint," the connotation being from hunger. The way it is used in my house is falling on food like it's going out of business.
My lunch on Wednesday . . . I wince remembering it. Hoo boy, did I go overboard. Then I sad, "No snacking. You're done." But how does one not snack when surrounded by children who say they want a snack then promptly leave it over?
But keep in mind any overeating during the day is easier to rectify than overeating at night. I've been a good girl yesterday and hopefully I will be today, and already, "mischief managed."
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