I recently made a sad pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island, Canada, because my wife’s beloved uncle passed on. The family made it feel as much of a celebration of life as possible, but as circumstances would have it, some melancholia was bound to seep in.

It’s tough on those left behind — especially for my wife’s aunt. All of the relatives are doing their best to carry on, to support her — and each other. As anyone who has experienced loss knows, the hurt will never go away, but in time it will fade, and life will settle into a new normal. Happiness will return.

 

In prior times, I’d visited up North to visit in-laws and vacation in other parts of the country. My wife and I have enjoyed Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and of course, Prince Edward Island — the epicenter of my wife’s family.

Shockingly, in all those visits, I’ve never experienced poutine — a French fry dish that’s smothered in cheese curds and hot brown gravy. That’s its basic form, but there are a myriad of variations with other ingredients.

Sounds yummy — right?

Being somewhat conscious of a healthy diet, I’d passed it up whenever it was offered, even though it sounded intriguing to me. (After all, it has gravy.)

If I ever weakened, a picture of the dish was enough to fortify my resolve. Have you ever expelled stomach contents because of a queasy tummy? It kind of looks like that.

 

This trip, however, I made a passing reference to being curious about the dish. And just like magic, it appeared in front of me, after having survived a ten-minute car drive. What could I do — be impolite?

I took a bite.

It wasn’t horrible, even though it wasn’t piping hot. So I took another bite, and another, and another. Two minutes later, it was gone.

I was no longer a poutine virgin.

Did I ever know it could be like that? Yeah, I kind of did, given what I knew of the ingredients.

 

Anyway, I’m glad it’s out of my system now – the urge to try it, I mean – and I can move on to some other firsts — like skydiving or something.

Have you had a “first” lately? What was it?

 

The End

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