The Taste of Life

I am about to throw a friend of mine a baby shower. In doing so, I have set up a Whatsapp group with her favourite people and there is no WhatsApp group complete without a cover photo. So, I scrolled through a year’s worth of shots to find a decent one of her, preferably without anyone else in the background. To my surprise, the most recent one I could find was New Year’s Eve 2019. We had all dressed up as characters from a murder mystery and my beautiful friend was in a maid’s outfit, holding a glass of martini in one hand and her skirt in the other – posing like the classy bird she is. Yes, I chose that picture as the cover photo for her baby shower.

“Welcome to the world little one! Here is your gleeful mama before you were in her tummy, celebrating what she thinks will be an amazing year! 2020 here we come!”

But alas, what we were all raising a glass to, soon dissipated with the introduction of the words ‘Covid-19’, ‘social distancing’, ‘face-covering’ and ‘lockdown’ to name a few. I suspect we weren’t the only group of people to be hit with this life bomb.

Reflecting back to the start of the year and looking at where we are now, if there’s one thing I can say for certain it is that 2020 has kept the world grounded; not just physically but metaphorically too. Everyone has been faced with the reality that 1) death is a surety and 2) it’s the little things in life that matter.

I remember that 2020 New Year’s celebration very well. Yes, it was boozy and there was enough food to feed the neighbourhood, but I was actually very under the weather. Even though it was my friend’s party, we were hosting because we could fit more people in our home. So, I really didn’t want to cancel on them if we didn’t have to. If I’m being really honest, I also just wanted to get drunk with my friends.

In the hopes of full enjoyment, I took to drowning my cold in some good spirits. It didn’t take long for me to not feel bunged up anymore… until the next day. I woke up on the 1st of January 2020 with the room spinning and my head clogged up to the brim. So clogged in fact that I couldn’t hear out of my left ear. I managed to stumble from my bed, to the bathroom to get some drugs, any drugs that would help stop the banging and the ringing. To my dismay, nothing helped for weeks; and I mean, literal weeks.

I was ill for a total of 3 weeks and 4 days. During this time my ears took turns distorting sounds or removing them altogether and some days they both decided it was best I didn’t hear anything. It felt like I was constantly underwater and like there was a tiny person in my ear drum having sadistic fun with a doorbell. Suffice it to say, I didn’t think I was going to get my hearing back. On top of this were the other classic cold symptoms; blocked nose, headaches, and zero taste.

Not being able to hear is horrid, I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. But not being able to taste for long periods of time is a different sort of punishment. I think we have all been there – when your cold gets the better of you and removes all taste capabilities – you end up thinking ‘what is the actual point?’ If I can’t taste my food, why should I even bother eating? Just pass me the paracetamol and whisky and wake me up again when I can taste the sweet saltiness of the butter on my toast. Before then, don’t bother making me soup it’ll taste gross.

No? Just me?

(I should clarify here that of course there is a point to eating food, especially when you’re sick – that’s where your nutrients come from, so don’t be silly, have some soup!)

In all seriousness though, did you know that humans are the only animals on the planet with the widest variety of taste buds? Specifically, we are of the few that get to enjoy sweetness in food. That alone should put in perspective the dire state of affairs, when the one thing that holds us superior to other animals on earth is taken away. (Yes, I realise our taste buds aren’t just the one thing but work with me here, I’m being hyperbolic!) Truth is, when I lose my taste and smell I feel desperate for what once was, like clockwork the same prayer comes back:

“Lord, please let me smell and taste again! I’ll do anything!”

It’s odd how much despair comes over you actually. Suddenly you realise how much you took for granted the basic things that made your day normal nay, enjoyable!

So, imagine 2020 comes around and hits you with a super-flu – that’s basically what Covid-19 is right, a super-flu? Not only will you suffer from headache, cough, fever, you might also lose your taste & smell and here is the crux… for an undefined length of time! We’ve all read the stories of some people bouncing back after a few days, but others struggle for months on end! Even after the major symptoms have died down, some are left with extreme exhaustion or the inability to taste food like they once could. That means living in a state of continuous exasperation, desperation and nostalgia towards food – i.e.:

“What is the point?”

“Bring them back, I’ll do anything!”

“I vaguely remember what butter tastes like…”

To this day, I don’t think I have had Covid-19 and I am very grateful for that. There was one moment – on my birthday no less – where I thought I might have had it, and believe it or not it was because I lost my taste for a few days. At this point in the UK, the loss or compromise of taste and smell was (and still is) classed as one of the 3 main symptoms. This means you have to stay home and order a test. So I did… and without going into the weakness of the test and trace system here, it took a week to get the test (which was meant to take 48 hours) and another 2 days after that before I knew I was out of the woods. Very annoyed I was…

Nevertheless, having started the year with the cold from hell, I can only imagine what some people have had to go through who have actually suffered the virus. I have both friends and family who have had Covid-19 and they’ve all shared different intensities of the symptoms but thankfully have all managed to come out of the other side, alive. Needless to say, I am thankful for that.

Nevertheless, there is something else I am grateful for too. Like most during this year, we have had to spend a lot of time at home. Going out for date nights has been a novel experience for us this year – where it used to be a common occurrence the year before. So, the husband and I have been spending a lot of time in each other’s space and cooking for one another. But at the end of all those days, we have been able to sit down together, with a plate of food on our laps. At these points we made sure to say a little prayer of thanks – thank you for us, thank you for food, thank you for health.

That’s what it comes down to, isn’t it? Having the people you love around you, having the breath in your lungs and having the sustenance to get you through the day? I actually think it goes a step further, which is why I harked on about it for ages in this post. This year I have been truly grateful for being able to taste the goodness of food with those I love too.

There is something about enjoying food with people that trumps a lot of other quality time activities. Food unites us and brings us together. Think of major holidays – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays… they all revolve around food. So, how disappointing would it be to not be able to taste the yumminess your Mum cooks up? Or your Gran’s signature dessert, the one you have been looking forward to all year? It would be devastating. Or at least, it would be for me.

So, despite the craziness that this year has been, I have been able to end most days with a smile on my face because there has been a meal on my plate and a person to enjoy it with me. I am very grateful for that.