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Missing Treat

I had been yearning Cheeslings for a while and had not been able to stop by at the local desi grocery store. So each time I passed a snack aisle in another store, it triggered a reminder that I was still thinking about it. A few months has passed between the first time the thought crossed my mind and when I finally got it. Maybe memory plays tricks on our taste buds because what I ate was nothing like how I remembered the taste from childhood. In our home this was a treat, typically served when we had visitors not something to indulge in routinely. Maybe the circumstances in which I ate this snack helped create the affinity. I would get my serving and eat it while the adults had their chai and snacks. It would be rude for me to get a second helping so took my time to finish what I had. 

That time in my life was well-ordered and predictable to the point of boring. I had to finish homework upon return from school, get a snack and take a break to do what I liked. If guests were expected, I had to change out of my home clothes into something better. Then it was waiting for the doorbell to ring. Looking back, I cannot imagine how doing nothing could occupy so much time. In the monotony of daily life, someone coming to visit was a splash of color. Now without that framing and context the once beloved snack felt unremarkable. I could not imagine why I liked it so much back then. 

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