One of the cruelest bits of cancer’s collateral damage at our house
has been the falling out my husband’s had with food.
And when I say falling out, I mean full-on break-up.
Thanks to radiation and chemo, cuisine became food became nutrition became survival became blended liquid concoctions taken via tube.
Now, though, as we step further and further away from his treatment, all that’s changing.
He can swallow.
He can swallow more than soup.
Not everything tastes like sawdust.
Some things actually taste good.
(Enter angelic choir singing hallelujahs here…)
Our girls envision an entire feast month, during which every meal will be replete with treats, favorites and pleasures, once he’s up for that. But in the meantime, each day is a brand new experiment, both tentative and joyful, as nutrition slowly becomes food again and, slowly slowly slowly, becomes cuisine…
The Invention of Cuisine
BY CAROL MUSKE-DUKES
Imagine for a moment
the still life of our meals,
meat followed by yellow cheese,
grapes pale against the blue armor of fish.
Imagine a thin woman
before bread was invented,
playing a harp of wheat in the field.
(Read the rest here…)
love this
I love this both for the visual of the feasts you all will enjoy and the beautiful poem. I’m relieved to hear that things are slowly returning to the real feast: life itself.
I’m so glad that things are getting better for your family! Hve you ever seen the film Babette’s Feast? If not, look for it. It is beautiful, and affirming.
What a stunning poem. It hits you like a rock in the head. As does cancer.
I’m imagining your girls planning their feast month, with drawings on the menus and the names of the treats highlighted with red ink and many, many trips to the store, the field, and the kitchen–may it come very, very soon.
Wishing you some of the joys of harvest season and a steady progression to a thankful Thanksgiving day.
Oh what joy you have before you! Praise be!
Liz, I take inspiration in every step forward your family makes in dealing with this disease. I hope you know how many families are cheering you on! I’m glad the smells and taste of food will soon be more of a pleasure than a displeasure!
Powerful poem. Thanks for sharing it.
Sometimes we forget that cancer treatment ending doesn’t mean the fight is finished. On the plus side, what joy y’all will find in every delicious bite of recovery:>)
Every meal a reason to celebrate–I’m so glad to hear your husband’s up to eating again.