It started on a what seemed to be another regular one morning..

Made myself a cup of tea.

Was surprised the decaf tea I drink everyday was more tasteless than usual. 😰 Could only taste a hint of bitterness.

The next day, made some sourdough waffle- it tasted bitter / sour / some form of horribleness. Although the kids gobbled it down.. I thought, ‘they have low standards.’

Initially it was not a big deal. On the contrary, it was novelty. Different! Even refreshingly interesting! But after three days, no, it was not fun anymore. The days were tasteless.

Peanut butter was a new low. Just a sticky mess in the mouth. Before that, I didn’t realise peanuts have so much flavour, aroma, sweetness!

On the fourth day I was starting to get a bit impatient, especially having heard people lose smell for a month. I started eating strong tasting food, hoping it would come back any time. Tried curry. Still nothing, except a bit of stinging on the tongue.. I could sense the texture of the slimy onions but nothing else.

I stopped wanting to eat. There’s not much point. Ate the bare minimum to have enough for the body for the day.

On the 5th day I was so bored with eating ‘nothing’! I was dying to eat out, scouring the internet for places I haven’t been yet, and then remembered, ‘there’s no point! I won’t taste anything!’

Everyday I looked for something new to try, hoping I’d start tasting again! 

On the 7th day, I thought, ‘why don’t I try ice cream? I should be able to enjoy it!’ Walked into a café, ordered a cheesecake with icecream. Was surprised how disgusting it ‘tastes’.😱 A bit of acidity, and the muddy sticky texture. It felt like I was eating mud / clay / playdoh.. 😰

If I hadn’t lost my smell, I wouldn’t have known tea can taste so good. Chocolate chip cookies taste so good. Life can be so good when we really taste it..

In the end it was the old cliche: you don’t know what you have until you lose it.

This lesson really showed me ‘stop and smell the roses’!