Deep Thoughts Brought To You By Jelly Beans

Kevin's watching a documentary on Netflix and I sat beside him, laundry actually folded, with every intention of making a dent in my current read.  Instead, I'm gorging on Jelly Bellys (bellies?) trying to get my blood sugar up.  (I just started an OmniPod pump and it's only as smart as it's programming, and we're still trying to perfect that process...)  Blood sugar levels aside, Jelly Bellys are meant to be savoured one at a time, not lobbed by the handful down the gullet.  I mean you have 20 random flavours to pull out of a tiny 100g bag.  35 beans to take your chances on with every bean in a serving.  But I made the mistake of inhaling about 15 in one mouthful, because when your blood sugar drops you may resemble a rabid ravenous wolf.  Self-control tends to go out the window when your body is trying to shut down brain function in order to keep the heart pumping - some kind of self-preservation thing, I'm sure... and Jelly Bellys were close to hand so that's what we're eating.  No judgement, please.

Back to that handful... 20 random flavours in the bag.  15 beans in that mouthful, give or take.  Each bean meant to be savoured individually... but I chose to scarf them.  And I regretted that choice the minute the revulsive flavour of a buttered popcorn bean mingled with the odious licorice bean beside the delightful blend of any other flavour that wasn't either of those two choices.  I really wish I had eaten one bean at a time, not just to relish the individual profiles of my favourite beans (strawberry daiquiri) - but also to avoid the unpleasant experience that happens when one (or two) bad beans taint the pleasure of a good-tasting Jelly Belly.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm expounding on my jelly bean eating experience.  Because life.  Life is why I'm telling you about my beans.   Because life is like a handful of Jelly Belly beans (or a box of chocolates, you know what I'm saying?)  Because you never know what experiences are going to come your way.  You take your chances and some moments are good, some moments are bad, and some moments are a bit like a chocolate pudding JB - somewhat mediocre, but not horrible in and of itself.  You can choose to savour each moment.   You can choose to rush through life and not savour a single moment individually, but take it all in as a handful of blended flavour.  You can even find your moments tainted by the one (or two, or two hundred and two) bad moments that seem to find their way into your routine.   And if you had a lifetime of buttered popcorn Jelly Belly beans and no strawberry daiquiri, you might have a reason to complain.  But there's always more good beans than bad in a bag, and you can always rinse your palate, and hope your next flavour is lime. 

If you're out for dinner in a nice (not fancy, but nice) restaurant for your 14th anniversary with your husband... and bright idea, kids... chances are that even though your kids are perhaps 11 and 12 years old, you will not escape the meal unscathed without cutlery landing on the floor, someone getting upset with the menu choices, or that same someone's glass of ginger ale splashing all over your dress as it journeys to the floor.  It's a given.  And that black licorice flavour may explode all over your tongue, and you want to forget about all the other flavours in the bag... and the giggling while telling silly riddles (that may or may not have made sense) tastes a lot like island punch.  The raving about the peri peri wings from your little gourmand tastes a lot like tutti-frutti.  The realisation that you're celebrating 14 years of an oh-so-normal-and-yet-truly-one-of-a-kind life with the man you love tastes a lot like toasted marshmallow.  Those little mess-makers who share your sense of humour and can spur a moment of anger in a moment, but make your heart melt with just a smile are even more wonderful than a handful of all the cotton candy beans in your bag.

So next time you feel like you made a mistake and took things too fast... or you forgot to luxuriate in a particular moment... or a scrumptious experience was just hijacked by buttered popcorn beans (*shudder*), be glad you're not eating a bag of Beanboozled choices - you could have stinky socks or skunk smell beans, and even that is just a slight chance.    I propose you just take life one bean at a time - move on from the icky flavours, and savour the good.

(These ramblings brought to you from the mind of a woman who's brain isn't really functioning with all it's cognitive skills at the moment while waiting for those Jelly Bellys to work.  Take it for what's it worth - insight and reflection on a meaningful life or just a loquacious prattling of someone who really enjoys her beans.)

Comments

  1. You're so eloquent in your story telling, and in your comparisons of life.....AND.....you are right......enjoy the sweet life, savour the savoury, and let go of the skunky stuff. Life is like that bag of jelly bellies....a lovely mix of flavours. Enjoy it ALL, for that's what makes us who we are!! A lovely mix of flavours. Luv ya! AJ

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