Eating Out: How Long Will It Last?

This journal has been filled with experiences Kate and I have had when we eat out. I believe it has been of major therapeutic value to both of us. Sometimes I wonder how long we will be able to do this. I know there will be a time when it will be more challenging to take Kate out so much. I am hoping that is a long way off.

As I watched Kate eat a hamburger at lunch yesterday, I thought about something else that could be another problem in the long run. Previously, I have mentioned that when she eats a sandwich, she often takes off the top slice of bread or bun, picks through the various items that were between the slices, and eats them with her hands. I have stopped ordering anything with lettuce or bacon on it. She almost never eats them. I don’t understand about the lettuce, but she doesn’t like crisp things. That rules out the bacon. She may or may not eat any slices of tomato.

After taking off the top of her hamburger bun yesterday, she picked up the rest of the burger and took a bite. A couple of minutes later, she picked up the hamburger patty itself and ate it. Then she ate most of the bottom and top of the bun. When she finished, she had eaten almost all of the burger, bun, and contents. That is unusual. When she eats a sandwich at Panera, she picks out bits and pieces and leaves a messy looking plate. She doesn’t like the crust on bread and usually leaves it.

Two of the restaurants where we eat regularly serve hot bread that she likes. It is more like rolls. That means there is a lot of crust. She pulls it apart and eats everything but the crust, leaving a pile of crust on her bread plate.

Thus far, I haven’t found any of these things to be a problem. I think they are not even noticeable except to the servers who pick up our plates. Even they don’t normally watch her while she is eating. I believe she still sensitive about eating this way when we are with friends. At least, I haven’t noticed the same behavior when we are eating with them. Still, I can help wondering what might happen in the future. At the moment, I don’t plan to worry about it. Time will tell.