I suppose it’s human nature that makes us want more of every good thing. If a concert comes to an end I clap along with everyone else demanding more, if that doesn’t happen it seems there was something wrong with the performance. In the days before sunscreen so many times I wasn’t satisfied with just a bit of the sun nicely warming my skin so stayed out too long and regretted it later. I’m not a collector but have more “Knick Knacks” than I care to dust just because I often can’t resist acquiring just one more. A look in the mirror shows me that I’ve had just a bit more than I needed at the dinner table.
In our house Papa is the one who loves to cook but growing up it always seemed to be mums who had that job. My mum would never have been in danger of being called an enthusiastic cook but occasionally she’d make Dad’s favourite “Rockies”. When I helped Mum make these Rock Cakes I never got to mix the ingredients or dollop out the mixture, my job was always to grease the trays but I did get to “clean out the bowl”. Any kid who has been lucky enough to lick the spoon, beaters or mixing bowl knows just how delicious the raw mixture tastes.
Once Mum was away somewhere and my little sister and I decided that because the raw Rockies mixture was so much nicer than the cooked we’d make up a batch and eat it, so we did. I think that the line between nowhere near enough and sickening oversupply is a very, very fine one. After a couple of spoonfuls we were feeling less enthusiastic but kept eating, even when we were downright uncomfortable we didn’t stop. No way could we waste it.
I don’t think either of us was physically sick but the memory of the experience has stayed with me and the lesson was learnt. With some things just a morsel is plenty.
You didn’t know that about Nana did you?
Musings of a Retiring Person 