The Lucky Packet Of Life.

When a lunch is so much more...

Nuggets of wisdom usually come my way when I go and visit one of the older villagers. Often a chat is worth more than a trip to the doctors. The other day someone mumbled; ' Oh, you just go and talk to people...' as if it wasn't important, forgetting that for those that live alone conversations are life elixirs far above a pharmaceutical equivalent.

Late this morning saw me visiting an elderly man living on his own. Always a treat to chat and as I love hearing about the old days and he loved living in the old days, a long and interesting conversation is the reward. By the by, Deutsch Schützen back in the good old days of the 50's, 60's and beyond must have been amazing.

The church bell was heralding noon and I knew that his lunch wasn't far away. He, like many others in our village, gets meals on wheels and is rather fond of it. A proper cooked meal once a day and often treasured meals that hint of yesteryear. Just like mothers used to make them. Every week they get a piece of paper with each day's lunch offerings revealed.

" What are you having for lunch today? "

" You know, I don't know! "

rather cryptic I thought but as he was grinning when he said it, I harked a bit further. Oh, he told me that the list of lunches was hanging on the wall over there and he had walked past it at least ten times today, but had chosen not to look. Not to get him wrong, he would have loved to have a quick look but then if he had, his day wouldn't have any surprise in store.

He enlarged on it a bit more by telling me that when he had known ahead of the time what was to be for lunch, he had gotten ideas of how it should look, taste or even if he would like it inevitably setting him up for disappointment. And that, as he told me, was stupid because he ate whatever came his way, no questions asked. Of course since he has chosen to not know ahead of time, he enjoys his lunches much more, has tasted hitherto unknown foods and really gets a kick out of lifting the top part of the food tray each and every day.

Sort of reminds me about life and how we want to dissect each aspect of it before we've even lived it. Perhaps we should keep the ' lid on ' and only lift it as and when it is needed...that way we are going to enjoy life that much more and stop complaining when our expectations don't resemble reality!

Biggi