Archive for June, 2006

Dear Husband: A Smoky Lesson

We have a crisis on our hands. And it involves our lovely 5 month-old daughter. Her health and happiness could be affected by a nasty habit of yours: smoking.

You know the facts. You’ve always known. You know that smoking can cause certain cancers, lead to death, and cost thousands of dollars a year. And a recent report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General revealed that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.

Fluff

I remember my first Fluffernutter. Jiff Creamy Style peanut butter, carefully spread on Wonder Bread (because Wonder Bread just can’t stand up to crunchy) topped with a layer of Marshmallow Fluff and another slice of squishy bread. This sweet nutritional black hole, a symphonic conglomeration of the emptiest calories in the universe, was packed into my lunchbox — the one shaped like a barn with space for a thermos under the roof. And I knew it was going to be a good day.