Did you enjoy this afternoon? How it was all sunshine and no thunder or downpours or freakish chilly weather? We had our first truly successful afternoon at the town pool of the season. A “successful” pool day means that I didn’t have one daughter asking when we could leave because it’s completely boring while the other wanted to stay for hours (this has happened, switching back and forth, at least twice already), and we didn’t have any “thunder outs,” which is when the lifeguards blow the whistle because either their is lightning crackling down in the field right over there or possibly there is just a distant rumble that may or may not be a passing airplane. Either way, it’s 30 minutes out of the pool while the mothers try to decide if they should seize the opportunity to leave or wait it out. And even better than that, there were friends for kids and the moms and a new book to read. Now that’s a good life.
Look at this sign I saw on Union St. & Dean St. in Schenectady! It’s got 3 sides that all look very similar, with a bunch of “Before I die, I want to” followed by a blank space. Some answers include “go sky diving. . . find the cure. . . learn to dance. . . go across the country. . . read a book on every president. . . have kids. . . reconcile science and religion.”
Cute W said “Oh, yeah, I saw that on Jay Street.” Turns out it’s the same sign that’s moving around as part of a Unio n College/Schenectady community interactive art project (with a Facebook page and everything), all inspired by the original idea from Candy Chang, who gave a Ted Talk about it. So that’s fun.
Two days ago J requested an egg with spinach, cheddar cheese, and green olives. This was a surprise. Well, the spinach was a surprise. Neither J nor M is anti-spinach, exactly, but they don’t exactly seek it, either. I frequently eat an egg with a massive amount of vegetables, and they’ve always laughed at it. Like, poor Mom actually thinks that that is good. So imagine my joy when J asked for spinach! And then imagine my sorrow when I realized that I didn’t have any spinach, because I’ve been eating other greens from my CSA from Lansing‘s. I chopped up a bit of mesclun, which was not the same thing, but it was the, umm, gentlest of other greens options. I didn’t want to scare her off or anything.
Surprisingly enough, yesterday J asked for the same breakfast, and since I’d run to the market for some spinach (of course), I chopped a generous portion.
But wait: it gets better. Because M walked in and saw that I was making a different breakfast for J, and she decided that she wanted to try it, too. And this morning, they each requested the eggs. I’m telling you, people, these girls are getting about 3/4 cup chopped spinach each before it cooks down. Which means that I totally get the Awesome Mama sash and tiara for the day.
Not only that, but we went to Panera the other day and instead of eating the Broccoli Cheddar Soup that’s been their go-to for literally half a decade, they each decided to branch out: M went with a shrimp roll and J with a chicken salad.
This trend is particularly encouraging because when the kids were younger, like toddlers-to-preschoolers, I was quite happy that they were such flexible eaters. It was even better because I felt like some of my parenting choices totally worked (and I spread the word, like in my post about eating at ethnic restaurants or my post on getting kids to eat vegetables). And then. . . they just sort of stayed the same for a few years. And I stopped appreciating that they like carrots and broccoli and instead I fretted because they’re almost completely anti-salad. After a while I decided that my problem (because I think it’s my problem, really) is that I’m used to them eating fairly well for kids, and I want them to eat well for adults. And they’re not adults. Clearly. So for a couple of years now, I’ve told myself to be patient. And now without any urging from us, my children are requesting leafy vegetables and new taste sensations. Let there be great rejoicing.
Claire
Freakish chilly weather? I must have missed that. I would take it over the high 80s any day!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
@Claire, We’ve had a couple of cold & rainy days in our neighborhood, although not in the last week or so. Of course now even if it’s cool outside it’s still hot and stuffy in our no-central-air old house.
Claire
That’s how my house is too! I think my tolerance for summer would be so much better if I had central AC (or lived in a house with high ceilings like the one I grew up in). (We’ve had a lot of rain here in Latham too, obviously, but I don’t remember much cold…I guess two weeks ago is already a blur!)