Put a Little Spice In Life

By Frances Kolarek —

Frances Kolarek-150 wideSome of my friends have become so addicted to eating “right” — no Beef Wellington — and avoiding all the “wrong” things — a second glass of wine with dinner — that I view their lives as somewhat constrained, if not barren.

They experience no rewards, those extra treats we give ourselves for driving Aunt Alice to the store, taking Uncle Abraham to the barbershop or buying a bottle of rot gut for the wino on the corner.

Some deeds are on the approved list. Good deeds. The wino thing — well, What the hell? Is it bad to make a poor homeless man with a thirst happy?

If you overindulge, occasionally, just to make the day glow as the sun sets, it could be a gift you are giving yourself. You know what you did, or abstained from. Reward yourself. At 97, with a rich life behind me, I can afford to thumb my nose at the future now and then and overindulge in the fudge a friend made for me. It’s about quality of life.

As I was writing this, an e-mail arrived from an old, old friend. It was one of those endless things with bird pictures on each panel and sayings about getting old. Two of them hit the nail on the head and I felt vindicated. “Treat yourself well as you are getting old,” one read. “Whatever you feel like eating, just eat it. It is important to be happy,” read the second.

Austerity rarely connotes a rich and varied lifestyle. This blog is to remind my peer group that we need to enjoy the last several years of life — to celebrate them, not just endure them.

And only yesterday, I picked up the paper and discovered that the diet gurus admit to having gotten it all wrong — butter is back, carbs are out, and so on. “There was never any evidence that eating less fat would help reduce the risk of heart disease,” one team of British scientists has concluded. Eggs have beat the rap, too. Why not? A 117-year-old Italian woman has eaten three raw eggs daily throughout her adult life.

Do you think the double-domed researchers have gotten it right now? My sense is that if I have lived happily and healthily so far, I ought to just keep on doing what I’ve been doing. Observe moderation in everything — including moderation. In other words, splurge from time to time. When I hear “Take care,” today’s standard phrase at parting, I often want to say ”No, thanks. I’d rather take risks.”