The Food Thing

In the spirit of it being near the end of the year, I've decided to admit something about myself in the hopes that maybe I'll do better next year and to see if there are any other crazies out there like me.

If you're curious about what my boyfriend and I fight about the most, you'd be surprised. Although we rarely fight, there has been one subject that has come up before: food.

Now, I admit: I'm the weird one here. I'm possessive about my food in a way that only Depression-era survivors should be. It's like in the back of my mind I'm terrified it's going to run out. And sometimes, I take that out on John.

I stick to a fierce budget in the grocery store. That means that things are always great later on- bills are paid, gas tanks are full, heat remains on. And I admit, there's always a little cushion each month left over, but inevitably there comes up things that you forgot about- oil changes, prescriptions, etc that suck up the extra money.

I am also a pro at the grocery store. my mom used to joke that you could ask the price of milk and I'd know the price at every store in town. That's fairly true. I keep an eye on prices everywhere. I shop at Kroger when we need to build up the gas prices and pick up produce, and stick to Food Lion when we're on a budget.

Now I should point out that there's never been a time in my life I went without food (surely, the negative nancies who always made fun of me for being "fat" in pageant land are laughing now). We always had plenty of food as kids. Maybe it stems from having three siblings and pets who were always stealing your stash. I remember in particular a bag of candy hearts I got as a gift. I returned to the house a few hours later to only find the empty bag.

So what is it about me that makes me act this way? I guess part of me looks forward to special treats like candy hearts and then feels devastated to discover my special treat isn't there.

This week, it was hot chocolate. I'll be spending a total of four hours watching other people take exams this week and I thought it would be nice to sit there with my mug of hot chocolate. I write to you two days after my purchase of a ten-packet box. It is now empty.

Now, this isn't something that's that expensive. but it's just irritating. I don't have time for another trip to the grocery. Plus, someone stole my identity last week and I don't have a debit card since the stolen number card has been canceled. So I only have a few dollars on hand. So, it's a huge pain to get back into the grocery!

Some might say that if this is my biggest issue, I don't have much to worry about. But in the spirit of a new year approaching, i'm acknowledging my weakness. What's yours?