I'm Hungry

So...this is the time of year when we are soul searching while trying not to think about the food we will not be eating on Yom Kippur. I just recently say a show "I shouldn't be alive' where a family went 8 days without food. Surely, we can handle one? Our problem is the focus on the food when our focus is NOT suppose to be on food. But you see, that is hard when it is engrained in us to think about food. I mean, there is always a reason to have food: birth, bar mitzvah, birthday, graduation, shabbos meal, holiday, wedding, even at a shiva house. 
My husband's favorite holiday is Yom Kippur. That just makes me scratch my head. To prepare for it he tells me that he is holding by "Pas Yisroel" during the "Aseret Yemei Teshuva (10 Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)". I said, "Oh, this is new?" He says, "No, I've been doing this for 10 years." I said, "huh?" (I say that a lot). How is it possible that a 10-year tradition has just past right by me without my noticing? I take full responsibility for being an OCD (Orthodox Compulsive Disorder) enabler. My hubbie takes full responsibility for "raising the bar". We are a perfect match. 
Anyway, during the 10 days it is customary (as I just found out) to up the obsessive food restrictions to "Pas Yisroel". That means to only consume bread products baked by a Jew. OK, well, it seems that unless you live in Brooklyn that is not so simple. Can you imagine that there are people who are Pas Yisroel, Cholov Yisroel, and OCD Yisroel? I typically try to avoid sugary foods during the 10 days before Yom Kippur so as to make my fast a bit easier (in addition to hydrating and eating my t-spoon of peanut butter right before the fast....little well known secret). So now without much sugar and being Pas Yisroel for 10 days, I'm just plain HUNGRY!
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My daughter asked me why this custom came about and who do we think we are fooling if we go right back to our Brooklyn Bagels after Yom Kippur? So, I told her (in my humble opinion) that it is like showing up at a parent’s birthday party dressed the way they like you dressed even if you normally dress differently. It ups the level of respect. So before we throw a birthday party for G-d, we dress ourselves up a bit. Well, we will see how this all goes. Either way, I'm up for the challenge as much as I'm pining for a REAL bagel and a cookie.  Here's to all of you having a very meaningful Yom Kippur, and stop thinking about the food, will ya?: G'mar Tov!