Easter Brunch: We can't eat twigs and berries forever

On this beautiful Easter morning, I sent Scott out for a breakfast of Kettlemans bagels, smoked salmon, full fat cream cheese and shallots.

Yum!

There's nothing that says fresh better than Kettleman bagels right out of the oven, served up by a cranky baker, piled high in a brown paper bag and eaten while still hot. We used to savor these bagels every Sunday, but now they are reserved only for special occasions.

Wouldn't want to eat too much fat or white flour, right?

I had forgotten how good this kind of food tastes. I rarely allow myself a feed of anything involving white flour, sugar or frustose corn syrup anymore in my effort to watch my weight. But oh, how I miss the way the smoke salmon melts on my tongue while the crunch of the sweet bagel assaults my ears.

Most days, I hear Peggy Lee. Is that is there is?

Time was we would spend our Sundays over a hearty breakfast while snacking on a hefty pile of newspapers.

These days, I'm find myself downing a protein shake laced with sprinkles of flax seed. The piles of newspapers are long gone in favor of the Kindle versions.

There's no mess of newsprint to take out to the garbage, fewer flyers to peruse before the weekly grocery shop. I don't miss hauling out the piles but I do miss the faint scent of newsprint, the sound of skimming pages and the light dusting of ink on my digits.

In the new age of smart phones, digital dieting and harsh exercise regimes, we seem to be depriving ourselves of all things that enrichen our lives and our senses. We've stopped living our lives in technicolor and 3D.

Life seems flatter.

At my age, I've had to accept that my indulgences have betrayed me.

I have sacrificed my great health at the alter of rich foods and strong drink and have had not just to compromise but to completely overhaul my practices. So I drink less, eat smarter and exercise more. That's just the way it is in middle age and I accept that.

Not all of us have the constitution of the Queen Mother.

But on this Easter Sunday, I'm giving myself a hall pass.

Today, I will be setting aside the table of recommended nutritional requirements in favor of highly salted ham, fatted gravy and scalloped potatoes.

There will be dessert and yes, there will be wine.

Easter is a time to give thanks for the bounty and beauty of the world around us. Christ may have died on the cross for our sins, but even he indulged in a little fish and Manachewitz.

Right?

Here's hoping that God looks the other way on Easter.

A person can't eat twigs and berries forever.