Whenever I go home, to visit my family there is only one thing I look forward to more than sleeping in a warm, bug and mouse-free house: opening up a fully stocked fridge.
Before spring break, I hadn't grocery shopped for probably three weeks. Needless to say, my fridge looked pretty bare.
I was down to one box of macaroni and cheese, a frozen pizza with freezer burn, a head of browning lettuce and a block of cheese that had been in my refrigerator since October.
Yet, this didn't compel me to buy more food, considering break was just around the corner and all my food would go bad, which would be a waste of money. I went on a week-long fast, which wasn't such a bad thing considering I had to wear a bathing suit the following week.
Since I knew I would be spending way too much on my spring break trip, I needed to make the most of my food situation at home.
My first morning home, my mom made my friend and myself heaps of french toast and eggs with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Before leaving for the airport, she cooked my favorite meal-filet mignon with roasted potatoes, green beans, cornbread and a fresh salad tossed in oil and vinegar.
I devoured this meal faster than a blink of an eye because I knew we wouldn't be eating this well in Florida. We are college kids on a budget. In fact, we ended up eating at McDonald's, Subway and 7-11 for most of our time there.
Once we were back in Chicago, I was yearning for a decent meal. My mom told us she ordered a family-size pizza from one of my favorite pizza joints and my mouth began to water. I was ecstatic, considering we had eaten such crap all week. The 7-11 cheese steak sandwiches just didn't cut it.
Stuffing my face with food continued Easter Sunday when we had a huge family party at our house and I thought it best to eat throughout the entire day. I not only had ham, chicken, homemade bread, taco dip, potatoes and salad, but also three different desserts-brownies, carrot cake and sheet cake. A bit gluttonous, yes, but oh so good.
It was sad to acknowledge the fact that I had to return to a cold Madison, an empty fridge and a food-less shelf.
At least I came back with a tan and a cooler full of leftovers.
Kat is a junior who is now 20 pounds heavier. If you or someone you know has had similar spring break experiences, share them with her at krpeterson@wisc.edu.
