Where's the Beet?

I don't have kids, so I've missed out on the vast array of wondrous culinary surprises that have been smashed, blended and pureed into tiny jars in the baby food aisle. That has all changed.

Mom stopped eating solid food, solidly, two day ago. The deal we agreed upon is when she stops eating, she stops eating. I have been a bit concerned. She's not in pain, and still shuffling around the house, but a bit tired, as usual. Still, the food thing is pretty important in sustaining life.

Today we found a solution to her recently acquired anorexia. This morning before I came home from work to check on her about 7:30 a.m., she asked me to get her some baby food: peaches and cereal. When I got home, the hospice nurse had arrived. I laid out a spread of about seven varieties of various pureed baby cereal and fruit. I didn't really think she would eat it. I was wrong. As the hospice nurse sat across the table from her asking her questions about how she was doing, mom ate. Quickly. The small jar was gone in about three minutes. Cool.

She then told the nurse that when I was a child my choice for baby food was red beets. She said I would eat the whole jar, and to paraphrase, it would come out red the other end as well. Something in that story must have stuck with mom for many hours.

When I got home she wanted to go to the store. She wanted more baby food, a particular baby food: red beets.

Was this a twisted experiment? She does have a clear colostomy bag.

No, I really think she just wanted beets.

Mind you, this is the first time she has been out of the house in a few weeks so it's kind of a big deal. We got to Albertson's and she cruised over to the baby food aisle in the motorized cart.
The choices of beige blends in tiny jars seemed endless. I'm sure each has a unique taste inside, but outside, they are only distinguishable by the label. Mom stared at the dozens of brands stacked four rows high, straining to read the contents.

So I helped out, "There's apple-banana oatmeal. Peas and carrots. Sweet potatoes..."



"I'm looking for beets," she said. "They gotta have beets."

"I don't see any beets, mom," I replied, as I visually scanned the jars.

I could sense her stomach sink a tad. But, we grabbed about seven jars of fruits and veggies, then she saw the pink-hued blended meats, and that seemed to suffice. I was glad she passed over the blended veal.

When we got home, she was very tired. I asked if she wanted to go lay down, and she said she just wanted to look at her jars of baby food for a minute. Choices. For her, they were true gastronomical treasures. Food, once again.

She ate a whole jar of pureed peaches. The baby food she ate today was the most she had eaten in two days. I will continue my quest in secret for those darn red beets.