Food Offering by Elizabeth Janczyk

“No more, Grandma!”
Shouts my spoon-fed toddler.
His first three-word phrase.
With impatience and an overstuffed belly,
he protests to get out of his seat to play.

Memories of my late Grandma surface.
A bowl of endless ruffle chips, cookies, and my soda pop-filled belly…
She stuffed it in our faces, while we watched our show, TV blaring.
No sense of a healthy choice back then, or personal space.
Always following behind, offering us more.
Watching us eat closely with concern, or was it delight?
Were we malnourished, too thin?
“No more, Grandma!”
~
She tries again for one more bite.
My son rudely pushes her hand away, annoyed.
As if to say, “Didn’t you listen?”
“No more, Grandma!”
She wipes his face and hands, then lowers him down.
He runs off to play with a shiny new car.
Too young yet to know, like I was,
That the food was not just fuel for play,
But an offering of her love.

Elizabeth is a Christian, wife, mother, poet, and children's book author. Her narrative nonfiction piece for women was recently published in the June 2022 print edition of Bella Grace magazine. You can find more about her at  www.elizabethjanczyk.com and Instagram @libbysstories .