Half-Fast

            Kim and I decided to go on a one day fast. I’m not exactly sure why we wanted to do this, except Kim has been having some digestive problems, and we knew from friends who know these things that fasting is good for your health. These friends probably have in mind a longer stretch than a single day, but what the heck. We’d done it before, together, and it was not difficult. No hunger if we stayed away from food. And the fact that coffee was allowed, in addition to water and a few pills, made the whole enterprise appear tolerable. One of my vices was permitted.

 

            We started off fine with a big glass of water and my two cups of black coffee. We had a number of errands, medical and otherwise, in Traverse City, and when I told myself to stop thinking about where we should stop for lunch, all was well.

 

            Except: On the drive home we had to stop at King Orchards to pick up some cherries for the pie Kim was going to make for her son’s birthday. No problem. Next to the pint and quart containers of cherries were two boxes of samples of sweet and tart cherries. I paused. Would that be cheating? It’s only one! This was my Eve-with-the apple moment. I glanced at Kim – no help there, as she was just examining the pints. So, I thought, What the heck – What the Hell was probably more appropriate – and I took a delicious bite. I tried to be mindful as I was tasting the cherry, as I connected mindfulness with fasting – though I don’t see the connection now. I waited – nothing. Kim told me to check out the day-old baked goods on sale, so I did, and I was strong – until I saw the warm just-baked doughnuts. I put a couple in a bag “for later,” paid up, and headed for home.

 

            The problem was that “later” was not that much later. Coffee was beckoning, and the doughnuts were radiating warmth through the bag. So, we sat down and enjoyed our coffee and doughnuts.

 

            I felt like a bit of a failure, but not entirely. We had skipped breakfast. And since it was about 2 p.m., we had technically skipped lunch as well. We did not resume our fast for dinner, but we did reduce our intake by grazing leftovers from the refrigerator rather than sitting down for one of Kim’s usual home-cooked dinners. And I passed up on the potato chips when I had a small evening drink.

 

            No, it was not really a fast. Some might say that my efforts were half-fast.