The habit switch.

Momma always said, "Wasting is of the devil." Then I keep asking myself, "Does that mean I'm the devil's child?" Or I'm the devil's sidekick.

I remember growing up when momma would ask me to go dish my food from the pot, and that moment would become the happiest of my entire lifetime. "Is there a major reason for that feeling?" Well, there is a reason attached to my feeling of fulfillment because I get to dish out any amount of food as my heart desires.

Often I would dish food that I couldn't finish on my plate, like I'm building a house, just like my aunt would fondly call it "fench", and when my mum would walk in and see the food on my plate, she would scream like I had done something awful.

"Can you finish this food?" Mum would ask

"Of course I can," I would reply with boldness, taking over the day.

After a while of beginning that journey of eating, I would realize my stomach getting full, at that moment I would reminisce back to that question that my mum asked, "Can you finish this food?" And then the reply I gave will look like the wrong answer. When my stomach gets full, I wouldn't know the action to take because going back to my mum and telling her that I'm full and holding that plate that still has food on it would look like a disgrace to my hood.

So to avoid mum shouting and telling me that she was right, I decided to hide the food and secretly put it inside the waste bin. I carried out that act of mine without being caught till one fateful day. Just like the saying "nothing can be hidden under the sun forever". And just like that, my superhero moves were exposed.

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Mum just finished cooking and started dishing herself, when I walked into the kitchen and noticed my portion was very small, then I raised an alarm and told her that mine was too small. She raised her head up and looked straight into my eyes and asked, "Are you sure you want more?" I became silent for a while to reminisce on the different occurrences I've had, and went with the answer "No", then she replied "Thank you".

I took my food and was walking out when she stopped me.

"Today I will sit close to you and watch you finish this food," Mum said.

Deep down I thought it was a joke, so I majestically walked to my favourite spot on the dining table. After a while I saw my mother walking close to me, then she sat down just opposite my seat. I was wondering what had happened but the thoughts of what she said in the kitchen dropped in my head immediately.

"So this woman meant what she said" I muttered to myself. Eating in the presence of my mother felt a bit weird, but I didn't show it. I kept my cool and ate my food, but then the food refused to finish. I tried every possible means, but to no avail. As I kept struggling with myself on how to finish the food, my mum, on the other hand, was busy looking at me and chuckling.

At that moment, I knew I'd found myself in a position that couldn't be easily moved, and immediately I started begging for mercy. The next words my mum uttered scared me.

"You must finish this food," Mum said with a serious face.

At this moment I knew I'd bitten more than I could chew. I just sat there like a homeless person wishing for a miracle. In the process of thinking of the next move to make, tears started rolling down my cheeks. Then mum came around, held the plate in her hands, and looked me straight in the eye.

"Some people don't have food to eat, they toil every day trying to make ends meet, and you! A jobless person likes wasting food. What would have happened if I had added more, as you insisted?"

Hearing those words I became speechless. She extended her hands towards me, and I collected the plate from her when she said, "Do whatever you want with it, but don't let this happen again".

After that day, I told myself I wasn't gonna waste food anymore. I became very conscious of the portion of food I can eat at a stretch to avoid waste.

As I grew older, I got to understand the importance of eating what you can finish. At this stage of my life, wasting food isn't part of my goals in life.

Thanks for reading 🧡**