So, I took myself out for a ride this AM. Yep. Got in the hot rod and drove myself down to the square and visited Margaret and Patty at the Book Corner.
First time I’d driven in well more than a month. First time I’d been out on my own in the same span. I felt like a 16-year-old with a brand new drivers license. The only things I didn’t do were squeal my wheels and blare the radio.
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The visit was exhausting, even though I spent 95 percent of the time sitting. The old bookstore smell was a mighty perfume. Magazines have their own smell, too. The gals and I hugged each other constantly and swore our love for each other again and again.
Man, it was good to see them and actually be out in the world.
On the way home, I decided to drive through McDonald’s and order a #2 combo meal — two cheeseburgers, fries and a coke. Hell, let’s see what I can get down my gullet, I reasoned. I got home, threw the french fries in the micro for 20 secs. and proceeded to give things a try.
What I learned:
- Sweet things still taste like sewer water. I dumped the coke after trying two straw sips.
- The french fries (I ate two of them) weren’t horrific but the salt hurt my mouth.
- I didn’t even try the burgers.
You may wonder what possessed me to fetch McDonald’s but — honest to gosh — there was method behind the madness. I figured if the grub tasted okay that’d be cool and I’d be able to continue shoving provisions into my facehole until that glorious day in the (hopefully) near future when I can scarf down my homemade lasagna. And if, say, the #2 tasted wretched — so bad, in fact, that I’d never want to put said combo meal in my mouth again — so what? It’s McDonald’s, right? What would I be missing?
End result: I can swallow chewed food but it still tastes frighteningly bad.
All in all, a very positive experience. I got to see two people I love. I inhaled actual fresh air. BTW: it’s amazing how much food I could smell when I got out of the car. If you’re downtown every day, you start to ignore the ambient aromas. Coming back from exile, it was like walking into the biggest kitchen in the state. And speaking of food, I know I’ll be munching promiscuously again soon.
As The Loved One said when I gave her a full report via gmail IM, “Little steps.”
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Yea!!!