I was a tough mother, no
getting around it … I was strict... How strict … well my brother would
threatened his children if they did not behave, they would have to spend the
summer with Aunt Mary, strict. And his children would normally change their
behavior, with the threat of boot camp at Aunt Mary’s.
One of the many things I
was “tough” about was table manners … sit up straight , elbows off the table,
chew with your mouth closed, use your fork not your fingers, don’t slurp your
soup … napkins on your lap … things which in my mind separates us from the animals in the woods! To the mind of a child it is dinner with
Satan …
I do not like “playing
with your food either”… do not overload your plate, then you cannot finish the
food and then you sit there and “play with your food”… or with a kid they hate
veggies so they play with their veggies or accidentally drop them on the floor or
feed them to the dog.
Or in the case of my
eldest daughter when it came to eating her veggies (especially peas) she would
become a Thespian right at the dinner table …
with a dramatic grabbing of her
throat and then she would proceed to gag or perhaps dry heave at the mere taste
of one pea on her palate (she only had to eat 3 peas) to show me she would at
least try them … I would sit and watch
this child of mine do her dramatic pea routine at the dinner table and think
this kid would make a really good actress … her ability to method act is
intense …
if anyone were to walk into the room and see her they would swear she
was being abused and forced to eat something poisonous and vile .. I was
impressed … and sure enough she did go on to act in plays during her high school years and she was a really good
actress …
I wonder was it the ”pea drama” that sparked this talent in her
???
As for my younger
daughter, she liked veggies and hated pizza … wow this kid was like a space
alien to me... Preferring healthy food to junk food, which took away my ability to bribe her with sugar. What are you going to say “if you’re good I
will give you a carrot?”...
It seemed so unnatural to me!
Whereas with my eldest daughter give her a
bag of French fires and I owed her …
This is why I was so shocked when I saw my youngest daughter craved up a fruit .. knowing she likes veggies and fruit so much .. look what she did to this poor pumpkin...
