“Chocolate just isn’t my thing”

                    -no one ever

Chocolate is a comfort like no other. While almost any junk food can lift my spirits, chocolate can solve even my very most troubling trials and tribulations. Although enjoyed on every occasion, the extraordinary powers of chocolate are brought to light when I’m in a particular funk. Chocolate can assuage the stress caused by a long days work, alleviate the intensity of any sudden spell of sadness, and mitigates my irritation during the most restrictive self imposed diets (an effective dieting strategy: in order not to eat any more chocolate, first eat all the chocolate). Its remedy comes in an abundance of shapes, sizes and tastes: moist chocolate cakes, sweet and creamy chocolate ice cream, melt in your mouth chocolate chip cookies, rich chocolate fudge and just good ole chocolate bars. Any of these are sure to cure all potential sorrow.

Or so I thought.

Over the course of this past week I have learned that even the almighty power of chocolate has its limitations. Shocking, I know. This past week, my kitchen counters were laden with the very sweet chocolaty condolences (pun intended) of friends and family as my mother mourned the passing of her father. The kindness and generosity bestowed unto my family in the form of the myriad of delicious gifts, most of which were freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, was greatly appreciated as I stuffed myself with all the chocolaty dishes I laid my hands on. Surprisingly enough, this did not help to ease my pain. I was filling my stomach, but the emptiness lay in my heart. In order to pull through this heartache, I’m going to need something stronger than chocolate, though I don’t yet know what that could be.