Daughter
&
d
a
D
Dcuns
by Patrick and J.L. Hempfing
“I want to savor each piece. Plus,
there’s a chance I might not eat them all.”
Her logic made sense. However,
leaving the candy in plain view of a choc-
olate-loving man did not. I ended up eat-
ing three of the tiny pieces, savoring the
taste of each one. Mattie did say that she
might not eat them all.
Later, I confessed that I had snatched
a few pieces. Mattie said, “I thought my
stash looked smaller.”
Here’s the interesting part of my
story, though. Having savored those tiny
pieces of chocolate, I needed more. I
walked into the pantry, pulled down the
container, removed the lid, pulled out a
piece, and dropped the entire chocolate
into my mouth. The chocolate slid down
deliciously, no need to cut it into smaller
pieces.
Then it hit me. The big piece, though
good, was gone. I had enjoyed the three
tiny pieces a lot longer. Hmm, maybe my
wife and daughter’s savor strategy had
merit.
S
avor. It’s a feel-good verb —
like love. I love chocolate. I
love ice cream. I love the thrill
of victory. More accurately, I love my
wife and daughter. I savor chocolate, ice
cream, and victorious tennis matches. three times the size had I not warned him.
I wasn’t upset that he tried the fudge, and
he ate a reasonable amount. I just thought
he could have had the same amount of fla -
vor in each bite and made it last longer.
Anyway, let’s hear Dad’s point of view.
We savor lots of things. Foods.
Drinks. Smells. Experiences. The fudge was delicious! I savored
my piece, at least I thought I had. And
from a man’s perspective, my piece was
an appropriate size. I must admit, though,
Jessie’s reaction surprised me.
In this hectic world, though, do we
always take the time to savor, truly sa-
vor, the moments? Recently, my daugh-
ter’s reaction to me eating a single piece
of fudge taught me that I have room for
improvement when it comes to savoring
the moments. Here’s her side of the story.
Jessie, Age 12
Today’s topic is about the proper
amount of fudge. My mom brought home
super great fudge from work and warned
Daddy and me to taste just a little bit be-
cause it was very rich. I followed her di-
rections and ate a crumb or two at a time.
No, I’m not exaggerating. The fudge was
super rich, and a tiny piece tasted like
a whole piece of candy. I warned Dad
about this before he tasted it, but he didn’t
listen. He popped a giant piece into his
mouth wasting 20 bites. He said he did
listen, and he would have eaten a piece
30 WNY Family February 2020
Yesterday, another savoring lesson
came into play. My wife, Mattie, had pur-
chased a container of fine chocolates a
few days earlier. I walked into the kitchen
and noticed a plate on the kitchen counter.
The plate contained a single chocolate,
cut into eight tiny pieces. I thought about
sneaking a piece or two, but I knew where
the container was located and could easily
grab my own full piece, not one cut into
eighths.
The cut-up piece of chocolate tempt-
ed me all morning. Each time I walked by,
one of the pieces called out to me, but I
showed restraint.
When Mattie came into the kitchen,
I asked, “Why did you cut the chocolate
into eight pieces?
Jessie is a busy young lady. Her days
are filled with school and extra-curricular
activities that often keep her away from
us. This leaves Mattie and me hungering
for more pieces of her time. We need to
savor the smaller pieces we have, driving
her to and from, watching from the side-
lines, and listening to her describe key
parts of her life we miss.
But whether I’m savoring a big mo-
ment with Jessie or a few small ones, one
thing is certain ’tween daughter and dad, I
love my girl and my girl loves me.
Until next month, remember to cher-
ish the moments. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Savor the moments, and maybe some
chocolate, with the ones you love.
Patrick Hempfing had a 20-year profes-
sional career in banking, accounting,
and auditing before he became a father
at age 44. He is now a full-time husband,
stay-at-home dad, and writer. Follow
Patrick at http://patrickhempfing.com. J.
L. Hempfing, now 15, began writing with
her dad in kindergarten. Her current hob-
bies include playing clarinet, saxophone,
and piano. She also enjoys marching in
her high school band. If you enjoyed this
column, you’ll like Patrick’s first book,
MoMENts: A Dad Holds On. The book
compiles favorite stories and new mate-
rial and is available for sale on Amazon.