What NOT To Eat On Summer Break

As we are reaching the height of summer and neighbor kids are out of school it reminds me of my own summer break days. The sweet freedom of summer was what we started to look forward to from the first day of school. Summer days were filled with sleeping in, watching TV, swimming in Grandmama's pool, eating whenever we wanted, sleep overs, and countless other activies. There were no schedules, tests, homework (well except summer reading), and annoying teachers....just a time of possibilities.....

My mom worked in the mornings so Bryan, Andrew, and I were left with the freedom from parents until noon or so. Translated: We slept until noon or so. When we were up and about while mom was at work we would get to eat what we wanted when we wanted. Ramen Noodles for breakfast was among my favorites.

There was one day that I didn't want Ramen Noodles. I don't remember if this was because we didn't have any or I was tired of them, but for whatever reason I did not eat them that day. I searched through the pantry to find a suitable replacement. Nothing caught my eye. My search then moved to the freezer. No frozen waffles??? What was the world coming to?!? My only other choice was the refrigerator filled with left overs. After sorting through various plastic containers I found a small, unmarked bowl in the back.

I open it up to see what's inside. I sniff. Chicken Salad! JACKPOT! Oh it was in the back because obviously someone didn't want it to get eaten. I hadn't had chicken salad in a while and knew the sandwich would be great. I hurriedly make my sandwich in fear that one of my brothers would wake up and want the "spoils" of my search. Being the courteous person I am, I don't empty the container. I save some for the person who hid the chicken salad in the first place. I figured we can all share, right? I then replaced the bowl in the back where I found it.

I ate my sandwich and enjoyed every bite.

A little while later I spoke to my mom on the phone. She was checking in to see who was awake, who was asleep, and what type of chores had been done. I gave her a daily update. I mentioned that the chicken salad in the fridge was really good. There was a slight pause before she asked me what chicken salad I was talking about. I told her where I found the bowl and what it looked like that contained the chicken salad. There was another pause before she asked me if I ate all of my sandwich. I informed her that I ate it all and really liked it.

There was a longer pause this time......

My mother then explains that we didn't have any chicken salad in the refrigerator. We did, however, have some really old tuna salad that she had been meaning to throw away for a couple weeks now that was in the very container I described! Her immediate question was how did I feel??? Besides being a little put off that the "spoils of my search" were in fact spoils I felt just fine.

Lessons Learned: What NOT to eat while on summer break. Don't eat anything in the very back of the refrigerator. It's probably old, not a hidden treasure.

OR

Need your refrigerator cleaned out? Call Chrissy!