What is it about Jello that makes people eat it when
they’re sick? Since I was 5 years old, my mom has tried to feed me Jello when
I’m feeling the slightest bit of illness coming on, like sugar and gelatin
mixed with artificial food dyes have some special healing powers. Last time I
checked, this slimy and disturbingly translucent dessert wasn’t chock-full of
vitamins and nutrients.
Let me just say in writing so that my family might
eventually see this, I don’t like Jello. I have never once enjoyed eating it.
There, I said it. I think a food that comes in so many different colors and
flavors while withstanding that awful texture is just not right. And if I don’t
like Jello on an everyday basis, why on earth would it make me feel better to
eat it while I’m sick?
Well, I faced this dilemma again this past week when I
somehow picked up mono in the middle of the summer, while spending the last
month completely alone in my parent’s tiny apartment. But that’s a mystery I
don’t want to tackle right now. Anyway, the first food my mom suggested was,
you guessed it, JELLO. Even after repeatedly resisting her offer, somehow my
dessert always ended up as a bowl of Jello with some heavy encouragement on the
side. And every time, I’d gag through one bite and push it away with, “Again,
no thank you.” Eventually, though, my manners only took me so far and it was
“I…..HATE…..JELLO” that finally stopped the seemingly endless supply that came
out of the fridge.
After that, my mom decided she was tired of feeding me and
sent me to my grandma’s house for some much needed rest and comfort food. I was
truly looking forward to being pampered for the week in my ill state and
filling up on chicken pot pie and chocolate pudding. The first morning, or
should I say afternoon since I slept for about 14 hours with the exhaustion
that mono brings, I sat myself up at the kitchen table ready to see what my grandmother
had been cooking for me. I stare down at the bowl that’s set in front of me and
low and behold, JELLO. Damn it.
