Ch 5 Christmas day I am hungry but there is nothing for lunch except for the snacks I bought at the store the other day and have tucked inside my suitcase

Merry Christmas to you, too! Are you hungry? I AM! I should stuff myself at breakfast, but honestly, there is only so much a person can eat in one meal.

The Y, shockingly, is not open on Christmas. There are no plans for lunch in the house and I am guessing that even if I can think of an excuse to leave, I will not find an open restaurant or grocery store.

I should eat the supper leftovers. Dinner last night was not terrible – it was marinated flank steak that we ate after I got back from church. I don’t even think Sly and Doris noticed I was gone. Primo grilled it, so it was done properly. I could eat cold steak on crackers and that would be OK.

Forbidden food should have a sign on it.

And then in a few months, Sly and Doris will complain to Primo about Ted’sWife eating all the herring and my eating all the flank steak. But I won’t care because I won’t be there and I won’t be hungry.

But my defense, if I could make one, would be something along the lines of, "What? That wasn't lunch? But I was hungry from being at the gym and I needed to eat something before spending three hours clearing out all the weeds in the back yard/cleaning the mildew off the front door/cleaning out the garage/cleaning out the fridge, etc., etc., etc."

Yes, I know I am not going to the Y or doing the big chores on Christmas, but the principle is the same – I am their guest and I have done chores for them that make me hungry and they need to feed me.