The Power of Food

I truly hope all of you who read this blog have had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, friends, food and most importantly, thankfulness to our great God!

We got to enjoy a wonderful American Thanksgiving meal right here in Paris. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pecan pie, apple crisp and a few French pastries snuck their way onto the table somehow.


It was wonderful! And, the company was great - all Americans and all conversations were in English! (The photo above is from the internet, but our food looked just like this. Yum!)

I was sitting by a man who was born and raised in the New York City area, but he has lived in Paris for over 30 years. He moved here as a young man with his wife, had a family here, raised them here and never left. He took one bite of the pecan pie and threw his head back, held the bite in his mouth and just hummed this hum of delight. It was very cute!

Then he said, "It's amazing the power of food to take you back in time." It's so true. That food is connected to so many wonderful memories. I'm convinced that it is extra good because it is full of memories...not just because it's the best food in the world.

I am beginning to get a new appreciation for this truth - the power of food. Without any doubt, the thing we miss the most about America is our family, our friends, and our church. But, I really would hate to admit how many times our family has had a conversation about the many foods that we miss. I can guarantee you, this NEVER happened when we lived in America.

We dream of eating a Chipotle burrito, Baked Mostaccioli from Donatellis, ribs at Famous Dave's, nachos from Chilis, a shake from Potbellies, a big juicy steak from Best Steak House, an ice cream cone from Oldtown Creamery or Cup and Cone and so on and so on. We've even wished we could get a Whopper as there's no Burger King anywhere in Paris. (Pathetic, I know.)

I truly fear how much weight we will gain when we come back to the USA and begin following our stomachs and that powerful effect that food and memories has upon us!

And, I now realize that we have ruined our lives, because I know there will be conversations around our table in America someday where our family will be talking about the foods that we miss in France. Life will never be perfect again!!!! (At least, not this side of heaven.)

Anyway, I ate something today that took me back in time. One bite of this food, and I feel like a little kid again. Here it is:


Only, it would be better if it was smashed. Then it would be more like I remember it. There is a reason for this.

I was a 'take bring your own lunch to school' kid. I was responsible for making my own lunch and bringing it with me to school. There were, occasionally, times that I forgot to bring my lunch to school. If this happened, I had to tell my teacher who somehow managed to get word to my parents of my dire emergency.

I lived in a small town and my Dad's office was in our home, so when I forgot my lunch, my Dad was often the one to bring a lunch to me. But, it was a tradition that Dad would make an egg sandwich. We loved his egg sandwiches (or at least, I know I did...not sure about my siblings). Dad knew that I loved his egg sandwiches...the ones with ketchup. YUM! Just to be certain that I didn't make a habit of forgetting my lunch to get his fabulous egg sandwiches, my Dad would, well let's say, 'creatively package' my lunch and bring it to school for me.

I wish I had a video of this now that I am an adult. My Dad would bring the lunch to the principal's office. The principal's secretary would bring my lunch to my classroom. I can only imagine the look on my Dad's face and the conversation he had with the secretary when he dropped off my lunch. Because...

Dad's 'creative packaging' was to write all over the bag. He'd write things like...

"This is the lunch of Jill Marie Davis. She is 8 years old. She has blond hair and blue eyes. She is the younger sister of Tim, Jan and Lisa Davis. She is in 3rd grade. Her teacher is Mrs. White. She lives at 316 Main Street in Danville, Iowa. Her favorite color is green..." and so forth and so on until the paper bag was entirely covered with my Dad's writing. Then, he would roll down the paper bag and staple the flap about 200 times. If my memory serves me right, there might have even been some rubber bands wrapped around the top.

All I know is that I was horrified to have to carry this lunch bag to the cafeteria. But, even with the highly embarrassing (and funny) packaging, I knew, that inside the mortifying paper bag was the best somewhat smashed egg sandwich in the world, made by my awesome Dad. Ah...the power of food!

So, when I made myself an egg sandwich today for lunch...some 32 years later, my mind was filled with wonderful memories of Dad's sandwiches from my childhood.

It made me wonder, what will my kids remember about their childhood when they are all grown up? An interesting question to ponder, for sure.