Yummy

I’ve being trying to write something for this week’s Scribbling Challenge (“Yummy”) but I am having a heck of a time trying to put something coherent down on paper. Why is that? What does “Yummy” mean to me?

Yummy, for me, means that when you put something in your mouth, the taste overloads your senses. Something that tastes so darn good you hold it in your mouth for a little bit and let the flavor just sit there a while as you also appreciate the texture and the temperature. You stop there for a moment and try to etch the experience into your brain, eyes closed, smile on your face . . . ahhh, yes! A moment of sublime pleasure!

I’ve eaten food in very expensive restaurants that I’ve spit back into my napkin because it was just SO horrible. I’ve also eaten lovingly homemade food for which I have felt the same way. What makes something yummy is something so intangible that you can’t explain it. The people you are with. The way the food is prepared. The pleasant combination of ingredients. Your presence of mind at the time. A confluence of factors has to come together to make something “yummy.”

The most delicious Cinnamon Dolce Latte I have ever had was when I was sitting in a Starbucks with a good friend of mine. I’ve been to that store a number of times and had similar drinks, but that one . . . yum! Even going back a week later, the same drink did not taste as smooth and creamy and nurturing.

The most delicious Thai food I’ve ever had was eating with my sister at a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. I’ve been back since and had the exact same thing – it was good, but not the same.

I’ve eaten a piece of cheap milk chocolate while sitting at my desk at work that tasted as if it were nectar to the gods at that exact moment.

It is so hard to pin down what “yummy” is, I am unwilling to do so. It is a feeling you know exactly what it is when it happens, but you can never fully describe. It cannot be sought after, only randomly found.

May you all experience a yummy moment this week – a moment of transcendence that snaps you out of the day-to-day drudgery and allows you for a second to experience a bit of metaphorical heaven on earth.