Life.Simple.Perspective

The sweet lady behind the dessert counter must have noticed that crazed look in my eyes when she offered to make me my very own key lime pie.  They were on sale that day for $4.99 and the shelf was empty.

I considered naming this blog post “Emotional Eating” or “Yes, I’m a Sugar Addict”.  Instead I chose a sweet little title that is simple and delicious…Key Lime Pie.

Hurricane Hermine had been down graded to a tropical storm, but it still made for a very hectic Saturday at ground zero.  Fearful of the roads flooding out, I hitched a ride into work that day, leaving my car in a nearby grocery store parking lot. To make matters worse, it was Labor Day weekend and we were filled to capacity in our vacation rental homes.  The scene reminded me of “Nights in Rodanthe”, one of my favorite movies that was filmed not too far away.  

Arriving at the office, we found the usual storm related chaos. The power was out so no lights, AC, computers, phones or coffee.  My millennial coworkers were buzzing around like bees on a hive, dressed for the occasion in their cute little rubber rain boots. It wasn’t long before the power was restored and the phones started to ring off the hook with calls from anxious guests that were scheduled to arrive that day.  They needed weather updates and travel tips because a state of emergency had been declared.  I couldn’t wait for this day to end.

When you work in the hospitality business, by the end of the summer, you begin to feel battle weary and your patience has started to wear thin.  To say I cherish my days off is a gross understatement.  I was so looking forward to Sunday, already making plans when at 4:30 p.m. the General Manager dropped the bomb!  We were expected to be there again the next day to assist with any storm related issues that might come up.  A solemn mood fell across the room.  I realize this is the nature of the business and our guests depend on us to be there, especially in times like this.  It still didn’t change the way I felt, however, about having to come into work on my much needed day off.

When it comes to emotional eating, sugar has always been my drug of choice.  How convenient that I had left my car in a grocery store parking lot.  Time to have myself a big ol’ pity party! 

It wasn’t long before I was holding my very own “custom made” pie in my hands…heaven in a graham cracker crust with a twist of lime nestled atop a pedestal of whipped cream. It was tropical like the storm we had been through that day, cool and refreshing like the cocktail that bears the same name.  Yes, in a moment of weakness I had allowed myself to be seduced by cunning, baffling, powerful sugar.  I began  to feel guilty before I even got it home, like I was hauling contraband. 

Confession is good for the soul and I did end up eating about half of the pie before throwing the remainder in the trash…it was so sweet and it was making me sick and it didn’t solve anything.

The next morning, I woke up feeling hungover and remorseful, and drove to the office.  Thank goodness we were only there for a couple of hours until the boss let us go home.  By now two different types of storms had passed… the one on the inside of me and the tropical storm.

Do you have any shameless food confessions that you’d like to share? If so, please do.

Please enjoy this “sugar free” trip to the islands with a song about Key Lime Pie. There’s even a recipe at the end for a Key Lime martini…who knew!