I wake up hungry and with low blood sugar and am immediately curious. What do I do for low blood sugar when I can’t taste anything? Taste isn’t the point, of course—it’s having some sugar or carbs to get my BG up—but I’ve often used a low as an excuse to have something delicious that’s too sugary to have on a normal day. I end up having another fruit bar and a few grapes. This might not be too bad. I try the coffee, which I’ve been looking forward to, but unfortunately, I still don’t like black coffee. Oh well. I take the focaccia dough from the fridge and put it into a baking pan on the stovetop to rise. Why am I even making this? Whatever. 

I spend the next few hours looking half heartedly through the cupboards for something I might want to eat. I make some English breakfast tea and it has a little bit of flavor, which is such a relief. I put an apple in the fridge, hoping it’ll taste like something if I try to cut it up when it’s cold.  I bake the focaccia—only salt on top for this one. Kurt comes downstairs to do some dishes and I ask how he’s doing. Can he smell things? Can he smell the dish soap? “No,” he says, and my anxiety spikes until he points out that he didn’t actually USE any dish soap. I mean…fine. I ask if he can smell the bread baking and he says, “oh, THAT’S what that smell is!” Right, baking bread has a scent. How soon we forget. When it comes out and cools a bit, I eat half of the loaf as I try to decide whether it tastes like anything other than salt. It’s nice to feel full.

A handful of friends check in. I speak to one who has recovered from covid, who advises “more rest than you think you need,” so I take a nap. When I get up I take a shower, and it’s so weird to be in the shower and not smell the soap, shampoo, face wash—anything. Is clean hair really clean if you can’t enjoy how good it smells? (Yes. Duh.)

I have Metamucil for dinner. Berry flavor. It actually tastes pretty good.

I go to a zoom meeting and get a chance to poke fun at my situation, which always makes me feel better. I get to hear other people talk about what’s going on in their lives and it feels good to take it all in. My mint tea is not as flavorful as the tea I tried earlier, but it’s got a bit of a mint essence to it, plus it’s warm and cozy. One friend who experienced what I am recommends trying citric acid, which was the only thing she could taste before she got better. I chat with two of my favorites for a while and laugh and laugh. It’s very healing. They both like the idea of a blog called “Sarah has no taste,” so I make a mental note to look into that tomorrow. We sign off and I head downstairs. I eat the rest of the focaccia bread before going to bed.