At the start of dinner tonight, the lass declared she wouldn’t eat her hamburger. This is kind of like declaring that the Sun shall not rise in the East tomorrow. Actually, I’d believe that before I’d believe the thing about the hamburger.
But she persisted, summoning up tears in the process. Two night of being up late had finally taken it toll. So I decided to be diplomatic. I took her whole plate away.
She then explained that she wanted just the bun. The Wife and I told her “No, you had soda and cake yesterday, you had chips and ice cream the day before. Today, you’re going to eat what we put in front of you.” She continued to protest, wanting only the bun. It was “too much with the burger.”
So I played Solomon and cut the burger in half telling her “Alright, lets compromise.” I then handed her the plate. She made a show of disapproving, but she ultimately ate what was on her plate. No more kvetching.
Hooray for small victories.
The boy, in the meantime, decided to get the Wife and I something to drink. This behavior, actually, is not a first. He’s been exhibiting little random acts of kindness for awhile. We initially checked him for fever, parasites, and any other mind altering substances to be found.
Then we realized the catch.
As he brought us our drinks, he also gave us each a “treat.” A small piece of candy. When he returned with his own drink, he declared “And this is the piece I’m going to have, since I gave you guys a treat.”
Nicely played.
But sorry Charlie, no candy for you. Not even on the 4th. To his credit, he took it in stride. I’m sure he’ll take it back to the drawing board for further refinement.
They always do.