Want a bite?

The three most commonly spoken words from the mouth of my sister Jan: “Want a bite?”

Any time she’s eating.  ANYTHING.  She offers ANYONE AROUND HER a bite. 

You don’t even have to say, “Jannie, that brownie looks delicious.”  Even before taking her first bite she’ll attempt to hand it to you.  “Want a bite?”

Nor does it matter how unsharable the food is.  If she’s eating soup she’ll offer you her spoon. 

She’ll attempt so share her salad.  Or spaghetti.

She is really not worried about germs.

Jannie’s generosity does not stop at food.   

In fact, her fourth most commonly spoken word is ”sip”.  And it doesn’t matter what she’s sipping: Diet Pepsi. Orange Juice, Alka-Seltzer. 

"Do you want a sip?"

Others may find it unsettling.  I find it endearing.

The other day at work one of my co-workers (let’s call her “Kim”)  picked up a caramel candy that was in a candy bowl in a conference room.  

“I love these things,” she said.  “Jean and I share them all the time.”

I looked at the one inch diameter candy, confused. 

I’m not sure Jannie had ever offered me a bite of anything that small.

I tried to imagine Kim and Jean sharing the candy without sharing germs.  

They're not even related.

Kim went on, “Jean really likes the white inside and I like the outside caramel part.”

I just stared.

“It works out perfectly,” she added.

I couldn’t speak.

“You see, that way we only have to eat the parts we really like!”

And I realized that maybe I’m the one who’s abnormal. 

I’m turning a new leaf.  My drink is your drink.  My food is your food.   My caramel candy is your caramel candy. 

As long as it’s over 1 inch in diameter.