Bon Bons

 

One early afternoon, after scarfing down a pre-made turkey sandwich while breastfeeding my infant and negotiating the number of bites of sandwich that my toddler needed to eat, I darted to the kitchen, took down my "tea" box and turned my back from my well fed children.  And do you know what I did (and often do) during this stolen moment?  I ate a piece of chocolate.  It was then, while I stealthily savored my dark chocolate, that I finally understood bon bons.

Yes, mothers did and do eat bon bons (or dark chocolate or M&Ms) but not in the way that the expression goes, "she is just at home eating bon bons."  This expression always conjured up an image for me of a mom lazing on the couch in the mid-afternoon eating a box of bon bons while watching a juicy soap opera.  While that sounds divine, what moms are actually doing is stealing moments to themselves and, for good or for bad, going straight to joy through chocolate.  In a day when they can hardly find time to go to the bathroom, this stolen sweet is a luxury.  For some, it could represent a little piece of freedom; for others, a risky move that gives a quick thrill; for some, it is rebellious move that is empowering; and, for many, it is a tangible moment to the self marked by the taste and smell of something that is only yours.