My Weekend in Opposition

My family is very strict when it comes to time. My father has been at least five minutes early to every event ever! So over my seventeen years of life I have become conditioned to be on time or else I get serious anxiety. But, this weekend I went to my friend’s house and his parents are the complete opposite from mine. They were at least twenty minutes late to everything. Tonight we were supposed to eat dinner at six o’clock and we ended up eating at seven thirty. So this weekend everything was late. And that is my terrible excuse for why this post is so late. But it is also an example of my weekend in opposition.
I went to visit one of my friends in Ridgefield, Connecticut this weekend and his lifestyle is the reverse of my normal lifestyle. My friend has three, younger siblings (twelve year old triplets… yikes!) and their house is very chaotic compared to my boring house (consisting of my father, my mother, and myself). I get an average of six hours of sleep a night at school and this weekend I slept for almost thirteen hours. My parents are so strict about time that I get nervous even looking at a clock and this weekend not once did time cross my mind. True, most of my friend’s houses are different than mine; they have larger families, their houses are chaotic, they sleep more than I do, and their parents are not psychotic when it comes to being on time (well, most are not). But what made this house so unique and distinctly different from my friend’s houses was the food.
My parents attempt to be healthy eaters but they gave up on my diet a long time ago. Every time I go home, I bake. Cupcakes, brownies, corn bread, you name it. And I usually eat what I bake, not all of it but a good proportion of my unhealthy, carbohydrate rich, calories filled baked goods. My unique (a.k.a. picky) tastes disable me from eating a wide variety of food and I’m very lazy when it comes to searching for new foods. So my food section in my kitchen consists of instant oatmeal, tuna cans, broccoli, bread, apples, chicken, bow tie pasta, movie theater buttered popcorn, American cheese, yogurt (only vanilla), baked goods, chocolate bars, and candy. So naturally, when I arrived at my friend’s house Saturday afternoon, I decided to make myself a quick lunch. First, I checked the pantry only to find whole wheat chips, whole wheat bread, pirates’ booty, smart food popcorn, and other nutritious snacks. Then I searched the fridge only to be disappointed with my selection of every fruit and vegetable known to mankind, packs of thin sliced organic meats, juicy juices, smart butter, and low fat yogurts in every flavor. Confused with the abundance of health food and lack of junk, I went on a frantic hunt for something unhealthy. But all I could find, in that kitchen besides health food, were some BPA (Bisphenol A- a chemical harmful to humans) free water bottles and a carbon monoxide detector. I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, Todo.
My friend, who is repulsed by my diet, made all my meals for me this weekend. For lunch, he made himself a plate of chopped peppers, carrots, ham slices, chicken slices, yogurt with granola, and onion dip. He also grabbed some pirates’ booty and sun chips out of the pantry. Well aware of my particular tastes, he gave me some carrots and told me to try the onion dip (which I quickly fell in love with). I also ate the pirates’ booty and sun chips. For dinner that night, we ordered sushi. I had avocado/cucumber rolls and he ate California rolls and chicken. On Sunday we went out to lunch and he took me to a restaurant with a limited menu so again, I was forced to eat something healthy. I chose arugula salad, because I was either unfamiliar with, or disliked, all the other options. For dinner tonight my friend’s mother made steamed mussels and Cesar salad. She bought me some chicken because she believes I am in desperate need of protein (and she also knows I hate most seafood). When I finished my dinner I looked down at my empty plate and thought to myself this isn’t so bad, I could be healthy.
Maybe it is time for a change.