Mom: We have OJ if you want some with breakfast.
me: How old is it?
Mom: I don't know, it's fine.
me: What is the expiration date?
Mom: 5 days from now
me: Eh no thanks.
It was like I was scared of eating anything too close to reaching its special date. Well, like my Mom said it would, that mentality changed as I got older. Once I was on my own buying groceries, it was more like check the expiration date and see it's a week past that date, smell it, look at it, decide it's fine for at least another week. Now, that's not true with everything. Salad dressings, sauces, crackers, eggs and bread- fine. But I draw the line at most dairy products.
Nowadays, checking the expiration date has a new twist to it- seeing how close any given date is to our wedding day. This may sound crazy, but trust me, if you're engaged (or expecting or have any other significant date to look forward to) and haven't done this yet then your big day must just be too far away to have any perishable food items with a corresponding date in your kitchen. The other day I was making a nice steak dinner for Rob and I. I got out the Lawry's Steakhouse marinade, noticed there wasn't much left in the bottle, and checked the expiration date. What do you know- July 31 2010. All I could do was smile. And take a picture. And blog about it.
I remember buying yogurt, which has a relatively short shelf life, and seeing the first container of Yoplait that expired post-wedding. I thought "wow, I could eat this when my last name changes and that would be OK."
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