Spooning

One night in recent past, in typical girl-fashion, I consumed the entire contents of one Jack's Salsa with a spoon. Having to monitor the amount of sugar I put into my little body, ice cream or icing seemed like a bad idea since I was in the mood to eat endlessly, and the next best thing in the fridge was a full tub of spicy salsa. No chips. Just me, my salsa, and my spoon.

As I sat on the futon with my comforter wrapped around me eating salsa by the spoonful, I reflected on this moment. This was a moment marked by the need to be comforted and consoled, a moment not uncommon to the world. Usually these moments are paired with a self-revelation, such as a revelation that one is not strong enough or that one is a snob or that one has a heart that easily bruises and forgets about those tender spots from time to time...

So, there I was, eating salsa and watching The Return of the Pink Panther, and I was beginning to feel better, tears and sniffles to a minimum except that I was eating some really hot salsa. And I pondered, what is it about all this in this moment that makes me feel better? Am I so easily consoled? I mean a blanket called a "comforter", is it all that great?

And I said, yes, it is. It is a wonderful down comforter. It is soft and warm.

But the salsa? Warm, but in a different way...

Ah. The spoon.

Knives are aggressive, forks are functional, and spoons are comforting. We feed babies with spoons. I mean, come on, there's a reason why we call it "spooning" instead of something else. It's comforting. My high school English teacher used to always say cake should be eaten with a spoon. And it's so true. I only eat cake with a spoon, and there's no going back now.

Eating salsa with a spoon, Peter Sellers, and my down comforter, needless to say, did make me feel better. These things within themselves can not solve the world's problems, can not solve my problems, which are small in comparison. But it is always reassuring to remember that even though it may feel like the world is coming to end, the chances of it doing so are relatively small, and that there is still time to change and grow and change again.