FOOD!

Real food. A beautiful rib eye steak and shredded cabbage mixed with a little of Trader Joe’s Goddess dressing. Last night’s dinner. My first food in three months.

The plan: Michael to come home early, get the BBQ going and cook the steak to perfection.

The reality:  Michael got home right at 4:00 and fired up the hardwood charcoal. We waited for it to get nice and hot then threw the steak on for just a few minutes. It was cooked perfectly. We actually began to eat at 5:10.

In the rehab education classes six years ago, we learned to use paper plates instead of expending the energy to take them out of the cabinet, take them to the table, return them to the sink, rinse them, put them in the dishwasher, then return them to the cabinet. Crazy. Paper plates. The best.

But, for our first meal of real food after the 3-month liquid diet, I set the table with real plates and the good silver. Michael even had a celebratory cocktail while cooking.

I called "dibs" for the bone from the steak and enjoyed it along with a very small piece of it, probably 2-3 ozs. I cut into it, ate a small bite and moaned. Yes, moaned. Michael called it the “yummy” sound. We ate very slowly, chewed the meat very thoroughly and savored every morsel.

There was little conversation. None was needed. It was the best food I have ever tasted in my life. Well, for the past three months at least.

Surprisingly, I had no stomach or intestinal problems. The human body at its best.

Afterwards, we sat on the couch in the living room and listened the new CD from the famous group our son has been working with since 2004. Loud. It was fun to listen to it for the first time together.

Tonight was a wonderful and big milestone for both of us. The weight is gone. We begin again.