Woe to the Innocent

We've all been there -- that dark place where we face that which haunts us. It calls to us, providing a way from the pre-determined path to a land of ease. But when we follow it we find ourselves misled. And try as we might to escape, we are held captive by that which first enticed us.

You know of that which I speak.

The siren song of the snack aisle.

In Book 12 of The Odyssey, the goddess Circe warns Odysseus that he and his men will encounter Sirens, deadly creatures of beautiful song. The only way to avoid the danger is to plug the men's ears with beeswax and have Odysseus tied to the mast until they are well away from the Sirens' song.

I've often mentioned my love affair with cheese puffs. There is a very good reason why we don't keep them in the house -- they are the only snack food I absolutely cannot make myself stop eating. I couldn't tell you what it is about them. Whether it's the flavor, the texture, the smell...I really don't know. But once a bag is open, it's hours are numbered. (Yes, I said hours. I don't think an open bag has ever lasted more than a couple days in this house.) But in the interest of succeeding in this venture, we had more or less banned most snack food from our larder. It's worked out pretty well so far. Till this past weekend when I got an almost pregnancy-like craving for the things.

It's been horrible, let me tell you. So when Mom and I stopped in Publix this evening, the siren song seemed worse than usual. It's times like this when I wish it were as simple a matter as plugging my ears or closing my eyes to all the delicious goodies on display. But it's not. And sadly, willpower isn't always strong enough to resist the call of the cheese puff.

...maybe next time I'll just strap myself to the car. It worked for Odysseus.