Some days you just want a tuna fish sandwich

Growing up we had basic well balanced meals...nothing fancy or with exotic ingredients. We often had the same sides with the same entrees and to this day when I want something familiar I pair the same sides with the same entree. As a grown up I crave different flavors and love trying new things, flavors, textures, spices. On vacation in Mexico this summer I sampled everything-fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, pasta, desserts, local dishes. I was in sensory overload-all five senses had been engaged in food all week-the colors, the smells, the tastes, the presentation-the experience of eating. As I perused the menu and the seemingly never ending buffet the final day something caught my eye-fresh tuna fish sandwich. I was instantly transported back about 20 years to my mother's kitchen-could smell the old house, could see my mom chopping eggs and celery and draining the cans of Chicken of the Sea. Suddenly all I wanted was something familiar something that reminded me of home, of her. I could almost taste it. Taste and smell are triggers for me-a whiff of something reminds me where I was at a time in my life, who I was with, what we were doing, where we were going. Imagining this tuna fish sandwich I was a care-free child with no responsibilities, worries, obligations. There's something reassuring about coming home from school or practice and your mom is there-much different than coming home to an empty house as an adult where everything rests on your shoulders. The lunch choice was clear-tuna fish sandwich on wheat. It was so fresh and crisp tasting. I might have shed a tear to find it was cut in triangles. As I stared out into the ocean I truly felt relaxed for the first time that week...that month-all that I had been holding on to (holding on to me) melted into the sand and all it took was a tuna fish sandwich on wheat...

Spants