Pet Please #91: Rarely Having Dessert as a Kid

Get in my belly!
Get in my belly!

When I was a kid, my siblings and I rarely got dessert. At least that’s how I remember it. At most we got a cookie after dinner, but hardly ever more than one, and I’m pretty sure there were many nights when we didn’t get dessert.

The trouble was, I loved sweets. Sweets were my favorite parts about holidays–Halloween, Christmas, Easter…those were the times when I could stock up on candy and stretch it out over the next few weeks.

So it seems like this should be a pet peeve, right? And yet it isn’t. Because rarely having desserts/sweets (a) made those holidays all the more special and (b) made being an adult awesome.

Because when you’re an adult, you can eat as many sweets as you want.

If I had unlimited sweets as a kid, I would take it for granted. Unlimited sweets would be a fact of life. But that isn’t the case, and now I get to relish in the fact that I can eat dessert after every meal if I want. And I do. Except breakfast.

I actually think this makes me moderate my dessert intake in a healthy way. I never want to eat a pint of ice cream. I want a few scoops at most. Because of my upbringing, I consider dessert a gift, not a given, and I continue to treat it as such.

Can you relate to this? Perhaps there was something else you barely had access to as a kid, and now that you’re an adult and can buy whatever you want, you enjoy the indulgence even more?

2 thoughts on “Pet Please #91: Rarely Having Dessert as a Kid”

  1. I agree with you, Jamey. Dessert was a special treat when I was growing up, too. We had special desserts at the holidays, like you did, but an even more special tradition that has lasted into my adulthood is the Frozen Chocolate Cheesecake that my mom makes. She makes it for my birthday every year. That’s the only time that we ever have it, so I really look forward to it each year!

    Reply
    • That’s awesome, Colleen! I agree that limiting certain types of treats and sweets to certain celebrations and holidays can help them retain their place in your mind as something truly special.

      Reply

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