Size
my mother
cut my food
until she figured
I had the ability
to cut it myself
like learning to tie my shoes
I don’t remember
when that transition
to independence
happened
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I do realize
that somethings can’t
be cut down to size
they have to be taken
in bites or licks
like ice cream
melt in the mouth goodness
<>
but not all goodness melts
not everything needs to be bitten
to enjoy
though sometime
it enjoys being bitten
even if it is too big
to fit into the mouth
its worth trying
to get as much of it as one can
<>
sometimes
as a kid
I would stuff
so many small pieces
in my mouth
I couldn’t chew them properly
I couldn’t swallow
at least now
I know much is manageable
I have a big coffee mug. It holds 2 cups of fluid – 16 oz. – half-a-litre. I have a travel mug that holds a litre – usually coffee. The big mug is for my morning coffee, which I drink while reading in my study, which is upstairs. I would fill the mug nearly to the rim & carry it upstairs. The problem was that the motion would start a wave momentum in the mug so that no matter how carefully I carried it it would spill. I tried different ways of holding it, walking slowly one-step-at-a-time, pausing to calm the waves.
I started pouring it into a travel mug so the lid would contain the spill. But I’d end up with two mugs to clean. One day the solution came to me: stop filling it to the max! Oh my, having less isn’t easy for someone who feels ‘enough’ is a good place to start. Why not settle for 15.5 oz? Less was worth it just to remove the stress (& stains) of carrying it upstairs without spilling it. The question of size was settled with a simple action.
This is another piece about the nature of more, of the size of things. When I cut my food I still cut it the sizes my mother would cut it, though there are some foods that really don’t need to be cut much – a pizza into slices, maybe, but I’m not one of those who then cuts those slices into small pieces to eat dainty with a fork – a hand-to-mouth experience.
In some cases even if the food can’t be eaten in one piece, it doesn’t have to be cut by hand but by biting – apples, bananas, a box of chocolates (lol).
It’s also a bit about memory – those things we do today that we learned as children some of which were practical – tying shoes, brushing teeth – some of which weren’t that practical: racism, sexism – which perhaps our parents weren’t aware of teaching us. Lessons that are now hard to un-digest.
TOpoet 