Thinking about parties

Today, a group of people who'd worked together in a different office until recently, threw a surprise birthday party for someone in the group. We all had to be in the venue before he got there, obviously, to shout SURPRISE, so we made our way to the room and waited for him. This was round about lunch time and for the previous hour I'd been literally salivating at the thought of connecting with my healthy lunch that I'd made last night - my yumscious chicken, my salad and my sweet potato chips. But I had been called to the venue with no time to heat my lunch, so off I went, to celebrate the life of a really cool colleague.

The table was laden with cake, cake and more cake, Oh, and some sweet pastries and some biscuits. And to drink? Fizzy cooldrinks. I had a dilemma - I wasn't interested in anything on offer, but I didn't want to look like I wasn't part of the party. It took me just a few seconds to get over the dilemma - which wasn't a dilemma after all: I just didn't eat or drink anything. I was at peace with my decision (which was more of a realisation than a decision). I chatted here and there, and a few people commented, thinking I was too shy to dish. Eventually people realised I wouldn't be eating anything, and they quickly got over their concern.

But something I gathered, from certain comments, was that the impression most people had was that I was standing there, craving the cake with all my might, but that my will power was so strong, that I could say no. That's not it at all. I was just not interested. I have, in fact, achieved a very important personal goal, and I am super chuffed: I am switched off those kinds of things. It's like being offered something I'm allergic to.

Don't get me wrong - I have indeed partaken of the mighty Oreo (my daughter's favourite biscuit) in recent weeks; the bigger picture is, I like my routine, it makes perfect sense to me, and when I'm hungry, I don't want to eat anything other than my healthy food. Besides, it's always so lekker, man! :-)   

It got me thinking about alternative ways to cater for a party. Hmmmm......