The party is long over, but my indigestion lingers on

I have a short memory. Sometimes it is a gift and sometimes....sometimes it is a curse.

Today, I declare it a curse.

With two young children, you get sleep when you can. If at all possible, I go to bed when I first get tired because I know that they will wake me up before I stop being tired - the only flexibility in the sleep schedule is on the front end.

If you are reading this today, you know that yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. As I am an American male over the age of 11, I watched the game. I didn't really care who won and based my rooting bias on which team had an alumnus of my favorite college team (Packers running back Brandon Jackson is a former Husker), so I was a fairly passive observer in the game this year. I was really all about the hanging out and the commercials and the food. Oh the food. I love food.

We spent the evening at a friends house with a handful of others and we all brought something to eat. The highlights for me were the sausage and cream cheese wontons (taste like biscuits and gravy) and the cream cheese and meat wrapped pickles (and I don't even like pickles.) Really though, I ate the most from my own personal contributions to the spread - homemade Caribbean Jerk wings and jalapeno popper dip. Yeah, I did that. It was amazing. I won't bore you with the details, but let me assure you - it was my pleasure to overindulge. I washed it all down with a steady stream of Wild Cherry Pepsi - a suitable substitute when Dr. Pepper is absent.

I knew before we left in the third quarter to get our kids to bed that a storm was brewing that would not be calmed. I didn't really eat too much, but the combination of greasy, spicy foods eaten too late in the evening with caffeinated beverages consumed after supper time assured that I would be awake through the night in a sleepless heartburny nightmare before being woken up for good by my children at an unholy hour.

I should have known better.

I have lived this story before. Many, many times. Every time I declare I will not eat for days and will never eat like that again. Until now I have never kept that promise to myself and today it is only because I haven't had enough time for the opportunity to present itself.

Given the opportunity to eschew real food for delicious bowel churning trash... I will do it again. It is always worth it when I am eating and never worth it when I am propping myself up with pillows praying for a few hours of tortured sleep before dawn.

I often challenge students to think and decide rather than just act. I urge them to consider their motivations and the consequences - to be informed and purposeful. I regularly explain how that sort of discipline saves a lot of heartache, and in my case, heartburn.

What was the spread like at your Super Bowl party?
Any favorites?
Any regrets?