Day 7: Everyone needs some spice in their life!

“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.”

-William Cowper

 

It was time to return from Chicago and get back to life in the West.  I woke up early and started the trek to the airport.  Traffic was your typical early morning rush hour in Chicago… cab drivers thinking they owned the road, plenty of music to choose from on the radio to keep your mind occupied and red brake lights seen for miles.  My mind wandered to the lists of things I had to do once I returned home.  There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get things completed.  Alas, I had some time on the plane to get some work done.

I arrived at the airport, checked my bag, made my way to security and headed to my gate.  It felt like a welcomed “Goodbye” as the trip was inspiring, hopeful and enjoyable, but home is where my heart belongs.  I knew I would be back in a matter of a couple months to have this knee replaced and I felt a bit of joy in my heart knowing that it represented a new and hopefully better chapter in my life.

The plane took off from Midway Airport and started the 4 hour flight back home.  I slept for some of the flight, and completed some work for the rest of the flight, but I could feel myself become very hungry as we inched our way back across the country.  My mind had already been set that dinner was going to be my Quest for the day… but what would it be?  After arriving at the airport and getting my bag it was decided that Thai would be the dinner of choice.  I have had Thai before and enjoyed it quite a bit, but a new dish was to be indulged in for the Quest.

When placing the order, the new item to try was chicken satay as the appetizer.  The appetizer arrived and it looked delicious.  Tender pieces of chicken on a skewer with a peanut dipping sauce.  I took one bite and was in heaven!  The chicken had a wonderful marinade and a delicate spice and the dipping sauce was the perfect complement to the chicken.  I declared this to be a success!

 

I placed my order for the main dish and chose Shrimp fried rice… nothing healthy about that one! Lol!  The waitress asked on a scale of 0-5 what level of spiciness would I like.  In my mind I was thinking a 0-10 scale as I had not heard the waitress clearly.  I chose “5” and her eyes widened and she said, “5?”  I gave her a look as if to say with my eyes, “It is only half spicy, why are you looking at me that way?”  She walked away leaving me perplexed.  When my entrée arrived, I noticed that it looked “different”.  I could see the flecks of spice and the red hues to the dish, but I didn’t think anything of it.  I took one bite and realized that a “5” is really off the charts spicy!!!  Soon my throat began to burn, my lips were numb to the touch and nothing was cutting the spice…. Not coffee, soda, water, or wine…  I was incredibly hungry and realizing my error rapidly.  It was in that moment that I was faced with the option to ask for a new dish or embrace and face this new dish with enthusiasm… I chose the latter!!!

The waitress came to check on me frequently and I did eat the entire entrée… yes, I was THAT hungry!!!  In the end, I felt a need to order vanilla ice cream for dessert and that relieved some of my spicy symptoms.  I paid my bill and picked up a “to go” menu and quickly noticed the reference to the spice level being 0-5 and I laughed….  I had SURVIVED the spice, tried a new dish and realized that sometimes the adventure we plan to embark on leads us in a new direction leading one to believe maybe I needed a little spice in my life!

Finally able to feel my lips again…. Wondering what tomorrow will bring!!!