Got Hunger?

I have a child that eats when she is hungry and stops when she is full. I have no idea where she came from. She's not from my side or my husband's.

Our people eat when it is meal time, don't stop till our plates are clean (pots and pans too), and are deeply concerned about starving children in a range of third world countries. Why just the next street over there are naked, malnourished, children being pestered by flies holding cups of muddy water waiting to see if we finish our rice.

Our people never forget to eat. You will not hear, "Oh I got so busy I just forget to eat lunch."

You may hear, "Fifteen minutes till the 10:30 AM snack." Immediately followed by, "I wonder what's for lunch?"

We are like a gas nozzle pumping fuel into our bellies. But we don't stop when our engine's tank is full. No. We stop pumping gas into our bellies when the underground tank is empty.

If there is still a piece of chicken on the platter or a Cheez-It in the box then the job is not done.

Sure I came from a big family. Yes there were many hands reaching for pork chops, rice pilaf, and peas. But we were not lions fighting over the last weak zebra in the herd. There was always more food on the table and plenty in the cupboards. I didn't know hunger. I went years, possibly decades without even so much as experiencing a mild pang.

After I joined Weight Watchers and started monitoring what I ate, I felt a strange fluttering in my belly. I paused, placed my palm on my stomach. "We're having another baby, Honey!," I announced to my husband.

There is a sports commentator who says, "The meal isn't over when I am full. It's not over until I hate myself."

Yes this was how I was raised. Eat until you can't breathe. It's a compulsion from deep within, manifested as a fear, anxiety, a fight for survival. The mere idea of stopping when one is satisfied is scary, like driving with your eyes closed. Who would even try that?

Well I did. I stopped eating before I was uncomfortable. I was simply satisfied. I pushed the plate away, put down my fork, and talked. No bony children cried at my door. I didn't starve. Our family didn't end up in the poor house. Something absolutely unpredictable occured. I ate again, next time I was hungry. Who would have guessed?