You never know what you have till it’s gone. This is true. Have you seen it in your life? I know I’ve seen it in mine. Just this week.

I told my husband a mere five days ago, “I’m thinking about not eating red meat anymore.” I could envision myself saying at barbeques with friends, “Oh, I don’t eat red meat, but I’ll take some chicken.” I’d be coooollll. I told Richard, “I don’t want to hurt those creatures that the meat comes from. And I feel better eating more plants.”

I’ve said a few times in my life that I could live without red meat. I found out this week, four days into eating a lot of chicken and a little bit of salmon and tuna – I really like red meat. I thought about how my dog eats red meat (he’ll do anything for steak). I broke down today after work, went to the store and grabbed four quarter-pound patties of 80/20 beef, a 1 lb package of 93/7% ground beef, and a package of three Angus steaks (at $24). I decided to go all out with some fancy brioche buns (never mind they have three grams of added sugar per bun), a head of Romaine, a plump red tomato, and some extra sharp Sargento. Last but not least, I added a pack of BarkThins dark chocolate almond bites, all the while envisioning my dessert with them toppled onto some vanilla ice cream.

Complicating matters this week was the fact that the Amazon Prime Video icon on our smart TV disappeared and refused to be re-downloaded. We were helpless at dinner time, stuck watching YouTube commercials, I mean, videos, for entertainment. Thankfully last night our Amazon package arrived – a Fire stick. We’re a little behind when it comes to “streaming” and technology (I still use the 6s i-phone). But apparently now we can talk to the Fire stick and to Alexa. Richard got the Fire stick set up and running. I just pulled up Hey Arnold, our beloved evening TV show from back when we were kids.

Richard just came in saying the burgers are ready. Because it was gone, I know what I have. A blissful Friday night at the house, with a burger, a great show (ad-free), and a wonderful husband. Time to enjoy. ~