I walked into the pantry yesterday to see Gabriel crouched on the floor with his nose in Diary of a Wimpy Kid and candy wrappers scattered at his feet.
“Whatcha doin’ Gabe?”
“Reading. And it saves me a lot of time to sit in here because I don’t have to get up every few minutes for another piece of chocolate.”
Phew, well that’s good. I’d hate for him to overtax himself.
No doubt, it’s a strange phenomenon to have a box of chocolate in your house. We always have some sort of treat around, even if it’s just a bag of chocolate chips in the pantry, but this mountain of confection produces some strange behavior.
Early on, Erik announced that he would do 40 push-ups for every square of chocolate he consumed. And since each bar contains 16 squares he was soon up to 2,560 push-ups a day. He decided to knock it down to 2 per square just so Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn’t get jealous.
I’ve coped by becoming extremely picky. Most flavors are below my notice and I’ll try one square and never bother again.
But this one:
Dunkle Voll-Nuss (it tastes better in German)– oh how I love thee! It’s more nutritious than the other varieties, you know– the phytochemicals in dark chocolate all those vitamins and minerals in the hazelnuts. Yep, it’s almost a health food.
Once someone opens one of these babies I can sense it from across the house and I fly to the pantry for just one piece, then one more, then another. And it’s a race because Ben and Stefan love it too. Really, I should put it on the roof and make myself climb the stairs and two ladders for the pleasure of each little square.
There’s only one Dunkle Voll-Nuss left. And as long as it’s left unopened I can resist its charms. Erik’s out of town and the boys are at school– I have it all to myself.
How long until I pull the wrapper back and inhale its intoxicating scent? Just holding it in my hand I can feel the bumpy hazelnuts beckoning to me. It would be so easy to pull the seal open…
Excuse me, I’m headed up to the roof.
Shelah
oooh, I vote that you either 1) eat it now, or 2) hide it somewhere good so that no one else will get to it first.
Selwyn
Or you could make it last by sending it to me and I’ll post you it back one square at a time?
But I say just sit down somewhere with your feet up and enjoy every glorious moment.
Tracy
um, hello – still waiting for my piece.
xoxo,t
Kevin
just tried calling to see how you’re doing–i’m sure the chocolate will work its magic 🙂 bon appetit!
Kim
We were all amazed at the variety of Ritter bars when we were in Austria this summer. We tried a bunch but didn’t bring back a mother lode like you did – clearly we’re not very smart! 🙂
Linn
No words, just yummmm!
Lizzy
It’s my favorite too, but I’m pretty sure my dad left a hidden video camera inside the chocolate stash. He couldn’t possibly leave for work with the chocolate so unprotected!
Bonnie
I would save it and savor it on a rainy/snowy day sometime. But that’s just me. 🙂 Chocolate is the best…
Jennk
Love the first picture. Love his expression. Enjoy your treats!