Daily Indulgences

I treat myself to wine and dark chocolate most every day, savoring a small sample of these two nonessentials. I could most certainly do without, but I’ve come to look forward to these rituals.

I grew up in a household where there was absolutely no alcohol, not even one drop. My mother came from an alcoholic family and never wanted to see whether she too contained a predisposition to abuse alcohol. I was thoroughly indoctrinated growing up. Other than drinking a few beers on the Florida beach and requisitioning a fifth of vodka from an older guy friend which I proudly shared with my girl gang as we laced our McD’s orange drinks, I was mostly alcohol free.

I went away to college and my friend and one-time roommate M, who was 4 years older, determined to teach me to drink. When I went to her apartment, we had real cocktails – things like 7 & 7. We never got drunk, but I learned to enjoy the effect of a little liquor.

What I soon came to find out, as did my dates, was that instead of a predisposition to binge, I have a cut-off switch that simply puts me to sleep if I attempt to drink more than one or two glasses of anything alcoholic. More than one guy lamented over the fact that instead of making me feel sexy, alcohol was simply soporific for me.

So today, I usually have one glass of wine that lasts from the time I start cooking until I take my last bite of dinner. It can be red or white, but only one glass.

And after dinner I treat myself to one small square of dark chocolate, letting it melt in my mouth as I experience that pleasure that only chocolate can bring.

At this rate, a bottle of wine and a chocolate bar last just about a week. My husband seldom imbibes, but he too likes dark chocolate, sometimes not stopping at one square.

If my mother is smiling down on me from heaven, she will be relieved to know that even though I will die a Jew, I will not die an alcoholic Jew. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to go when the time comes than just slipping away after my glass of wine and single bite of chocolate.