When Plenty Isn’t Enough

One of my favorite Winnie the Pooh stories takes place when Pooh visits his good friend, Rabbit, and practically eats him out of house and home. Pooh comes in through the rabbit hole doorway and overeats to the extent that he gets stuck on his way out and has to wait, wedged in, until he has lost enough weight to squeeze back out.  It’s honey that is Pooh’s undoing.  After he has eaten and eaten, Rabbit — always the gracious host —  politely but dolefully asks if he would like any more.  “IS there any more?” asks Pooh, ever so hopefully.  There’s a similar theme in the children’s books featuring the two friends, Frog and Toad. In one story, they bake chocolate chip cookies and Toad cannot quit eating them.  “Just one more,” becomes his mantra and of course, he can’t stop with just one more and eventually gets sick. I love Toad and Pooh, they embody a lot of my own weaknesses, as moderation is not my forte, either. Not too long ago, I found an unopened box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies in the cupboard. First I opened one of the cellophane wrapped stacks inside the box but then, moved on to the other fairly quickly.  Just one more, I kept telling myself. And then, like Toad, I was sick.  As often as I read those stories to our kids, I didn’t learn a thing.