The Duchess

The duchess

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have a problem. A dilema if you will. If you are a woman, you will be able to relate. Maybe. I am confident that I am not alone as I count down to the holidays.

You see, I love to eat. ( I think I’ve mentioned this before…) Yes – I enjoy food. Especially sweets. I love decadent desserts. However at Thanksgiving the entire feast is not just a meal – its an experience. The turkey, the mashed potatoes, the dressing, the sweet potato souffle (that’s what I’m making), and all of the other trimmings too. I think my mouth is watering.

This alone is not exactly the problem. I also would like to shed a few pounds. They are baby pounds from my recent pregnancy. And by a few, I really mean quite a lot. My daughter often says the phrase “A few and a bunch.” and I still don’t know what it actually means to her, but it suits my purposes in this instance. I would like to loose a “few and a bunch” of pounds.

I’m having difficulty combining my love for food with my love for weight loss. It really is very stressful. I have been working very hard at making excellent food choices and that includes not eating desserts. My family will soon suffer the consequences. How many more times can I successfully walk past the halloween bucket full of candy and not devour everything inside and still be the tender, loving mother and wife that I am? Not many more, I assure you!

So far – over these weeks since Halloween, I have dominated those demon looking jack-o-lantern buckets. I haven’t eaten candy – not once! (But, I could swear the buckets call my name in the middle of the night. )

And I have lost a few pounds. In the process – I have realized as I bring my wants and desires into submission, I also am hungry sometimes. And I mean famished. What happens to me when those hunger pains kick in? My stomach can make some serious noises – the growling ensues as well as the embarrassing situations.

I’m just giving fair warning. If you are around me between now and the eternity that it will take to loose the weight – I may be a bit tense, I may be hearing voices, or I may be the duchess. The duchess is a character in a poem my great grandmother taught me long ago. I giggled just now thinking about it:

“I sat by the duchess at tea,

who’s rumblings abdominal

were something phenomenal

and the guests all thought it was me.”

Just apologizing in advance.

(written November 23, 2009)