Imagine a world where there is no distinction, no color, no rhyme, no reason, no taste. Pretty bland! A recent episode with allergies and asthma has left me without a sense of taste. Hot, cold, smooth, crunchy are all sensations that I can distinguish. The coffee that I loved now tastes like – you guessed it, hot water. Am I still drinking it? Yes, with the hope of being able to enjoy its flavor one day soon.
Life has got to have flavor or it’s just a mere existence. What adds flavor to your life? The answer is as varied as we are. Guess you could say I’m giving you food for thought.
You might think that not tasting has stopped me from eating or overeating. It has affected it but I still get hungry. It has made me think: We take a lot for granted.
My father-in-law before he passed away lost his appetite. He was rather miserable. He didn’t want to eat, nothing tasted right and he just didn’t really care for food. We made and took him all kinds of food hoping for that bite that would bring a smile to his face. It just didn’t happen. He didn’t have an appetite and he didn’t want anyone trying to force him to eat.
I’m sure he did eat sometimes to humor us but it was quite sad. I can empathize with him more now. Life for him had lost its flavor. He wasn’t physically able to do what he wanted to do. His get up and go sort of got up and went. It was his faith that got him through those last days. He still hoped for a better day.
God forbid but if and when we come to that point in our lives what’s going to see us thru? What’s going to make life bearable when life has lost it’s flavor? We all need faith in something bigger than ourselves to make it through. Personally I need that faith in God to get me through every day.
Seems like every day and every phase of our lives brings lessons to learn. The theme that keeps coming back to me is enjoy life while you can. I don’t mean go out and party like a mad person. Take time to smell the roses, savor that piece of chocolate or that cup of coffee. Read that book, start a hobby, reconnect with family and friends, make time for something you have always wanted to do. Live life with gusto.
Ask any kid hooked on video games and they’ll tell you have to have HP if you are going to continue playing. Seems that a lot of the games have points assigned to each player that determine how much damage or physical injury they can withstand.
When a person or character is attacked, the damage inflicted is subtracted from their HP or health points. When their HP reaches zero – you guessed it – they are no longer able to play.
Our grandson Nicholas says that HP is life energy. Often when we play games together when my HP reaches zero before his does (because he usually makes up the rules), he says “Don’t worry Grandma. I’ll give you some more HP.” We then keep playing. It’s as if he has given me some of what it is that makes him jump, skip, twist, giggle and laugh. He told me recently that I did pretty good for an “old woman.”
If you see me just sitting on the back porch you’ll know that I am relishing the moment and recharging my HP. Hopefully I will have a cup of rich, mellow coffee in hand and a good book.
At night you’ll find me counting the stars and gazing in wonder at the moon. In fact that’s why I need the coffee so that I can do just that. Often times I drag Wally across the front yard to catch an amazing view of the moon as it nestles between the clearing at the top of the hill. It looks like it has been framed just for the viewing.
How is your HP?
Simply Sandy is written by Sandy Jarrell and appears the first Wednesday of each month. Simply put, it’s Sandy waxing wordy once a month about life as she knows it. Jarrell is a native and life-long resident of Coleridge and a librarian at Ramseur Public Library. She can be reached by e-mail at wjarrell@rtmc.net
