Foods aren't just foods

I, was never good at eating. Of course, that was before I met my wife.

I grew up in a big family, where my family members would sit around a large table on every single day for dinner. I got reminded very often, to eat more of this, and more of that. And because of it, I always finished eating earlier than the rest of my family, with a stomach that was half empty, and another half filled with foods which I did not consider very delicious. My grandparents said that I got monophagia, and that would be bad for my health.

Well, in fact, it did end up like that. I was quite slim, until I finished my degree, got a job, and started living like an adult among other civilians in the society.

“I am free!” That was my first impression when I entered society as a grown man.

There were plenty of restaurants around the city, where I ran into, to exercise my freedom. Some fast foods, like McDonald's, once took me getting an A on exams to land a taste on it, were finally extremely easy to obtain.

My childhood was a very simple one. It was all about getting an A on exams to eat at McDonald’s. Because of this, I still considered McDonald's as the best food even though there were many other dining options I could easily afford. Of course that was before I met my wife.

My wife is a very good cook, she cooks the best food. Her food is even more delicious than McDonald’s. And because of this, I’ve quickly grown into a butterball, something that I could never believe possible before. And it seems that I will never be able to go back to the slim version of me, as I once was.

After I married my wife, I thought I would never have to eat outside again. But I soon found out, that I was wrong.

I still need those fast food restaurants simply because I just cannot stop pissing off my wife. Especially in the summer, when the temperature is high, that gets everything and everyone cooked up. It simply makes me a lot more impetuous. And that is why the high summer temperature brings up my bad temper. When I get angry, sometimes I cannot help myself to turn against someone that is close to me, someone who simply shows up at the wrong place at the wrong time, like my wife. Whenever I pisses off my wife, I will have to make it up with her again. And the simplest way to achieve that, is to bring her to a restaurant and wash her mouth over and over again with some amazingly delicious food, while scratching her ears with my heart breaking apologies.

I did try many things, to cope with my bad temper, such as meditation, religion, psychology etc. Although some techniques are more effective than others, overall, it is still inevitable for my imperfect and evil thought patterns to emerge to the surface as anger. My bad temper would still like to catch up with me after all.

Therefore, restaurants are absolutely essential for me to make things up with my wife.

I remember my wife once said, she enjoyed the taste of McDonald’s since she was a child. But her family didn’t have much money to spend on food during that period. One time, my mother in law went into the city, and came back with a fish hamburger from McDonald’s. My wife was still at school when this fish hamburger was put onto her table. And it actually ended up in the belly of her cat, before she could even make her way back home.

“What a waste …” Those are the final words my wife had, on her cat’s fish hamburger.

Whenever I upset my wife, I would think of this little story she told me. And then I would take her to a McDonald’s restaurant for a hamburger meal. I recently went vegetarian, so there would not be much stuff I could eat. I would beg for a piece of bread off her sandwich, and I believe that this will make her feel better, and therefore will make it easier for her to forgive me.

Later on, I began to understand that foods aren’t just foods. Foods aren’t just something delicious, something that fuels our body. Foods have more significance than that. Food helps me to make an apology with my wife, to prevent my relationship with her from falling apart. It also brings old friends sitting next to each other for a laugh, and it helps businesses to strike deals with their partners.

And because of this, even though McDonald’s isn’t as delicious as my wife’s waffles, I still need it, whenever I pisses her off.

Now, when I look back to the days of my childhood, to the days when I gathered around a large dinner table with the rest of my family. Maybe the dinner on the table was not just about its taste, or what it did to my body and stomach. What was also important, was that it brought a whole big family together, to sit around a dining table, so they could talk, laugh, enjoy, and love.