DARLING, YOUR STOMACH IS JUST A SMALL BALLOON

 




“All you need is love.

But, a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

Charles M. Schulz

 

The evening before last, my wife I had been to R-City Mall. She wanted to pick some outfits for her Yoga sessions. So, we landed up at the Decathlon outlet at this mall. By the time the shopping got over, it was 8.45 p. m. While waiting there for madam to finish with her choices, my mind was running very wild: “What would we have at the food outlets? Which late-night movie shall we watch?” I was dying to have a big-fat chicken burger at the McDonald’s, and was assuming, that my wife would love to have her favourite Fillet-O-Fish. Perhaps, she would love to watch the late show of ‘Jurassic Park’ at the INOX… I had checked the timings: 9.45 p.m. But, I hadn’t checked it with my wife. When I, finally, did, I heard this: “No way. I have cooked for the dinner very nice-and-big (read, ‘very expensive’) pomfrets for you. We are going to have dinner at home.”

I sulked. “Come on, we are out at this mall after over two years… Let’s enjoy the experience here.”

“Nothing doing,” roared my wife, “You are not a 30-year-old anymore to experience the Maharaja Chicken Burger… Movie for another day. You wanted pomfrets curry and fry… They are waiting for you at home.”

I had to tuck my tail between my legs and follow my wife all the way home… It was a difficult night!





After my health scare in 2018, my wife had been a lot strict about what went into my stomach… I was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in my right kidney. The kidney was removed surgically. In the hospital, I, also, developed the dreaded pulmonary-embolism (lungs fail due to a blood clot in the leg). It was the early stage of cancer… Fortunately, it hadn’t spread to any other part of my body. But, the second life had to be valued and not to be abused. My wife had been extremely particular to make me conscious of this reality, even if it meant I sulked, grumbled, cried or yelled. “What is not good for you, is not good for you. Period.”

Medicine has to be bitter, right?

I am still learning to swallow it!

And, then, last night, an old friend of mine had invited me and two other friends for a dinner at his club. I was forewarned by my wife about the diet. I was the only teetotaler in that group. I settled for a mocktail, while my friends had enough to keep them swinging, taking their own sweet time… About six-seven different non-veg starters (two pieces of each one of them) and a vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate 'was all we had'. I remembered what my wife said the earlier evening: “You are not a 30-year-old anymore… What is not good for you, is not good for you.”

Actually, you don’t need your khadoos wife to remind you, “Darling, your stomach is just a small balloon. Be careful.”

I have skipped my breakfast today… Have carried for my lunch only a single chapati and some dry veg-dish of beans and carrot. The conscious long gap – which they call ‘intermittent fasting’ – yes, I am able to see the detoxing effect it is already having on my system…

I am, also, able to grasp why only your loved ones can tell you on your face: “Nothing doing… Your stomach is just a  small balloon.”

I may blog every day, what I may assume to be inspirational. It doesn’t mean, that I have learnt to deal with my small balloon!

 





GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: 1. getty images 2. Matthias Zomer

 

Video: Disney Music/Wayne Brady

 

 

 

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