Something amazing happened yesterday
Mar 22nd, 2008 by Jill
Jack and I were at Kathy’s house after a parent-teacher conference. We’d gone together with G in one car, and we’d dropped off G. Jack needed a book he’d left at Kathy’s, so the three of us went back to her place together. Kathy invited us in and offered us ice cream. As we sat around talking, I realized there was something odd about the situation. This ice cream was green. This was mint chocolate chip ice cream. And Jack was eating it. In the world I know, the only ice cream Chris and Jack will eat is vanilla.
“This isn’t vanilla ice cream,” I said.
“True,” said Kathy.
“But Jack is eating it. He and Chris won’t eat anything but vanilla ice cream at our place.”
“How weird. We eat this all the time over here.”
“I also like lemon sorbet and rainbow sherbet,” Jack piped up.
Sometimes I wonder if the kids are playing elaborate practical jokes on us between houses. (“Okay, we’re going over to Dad and Jill’s house. Remember, we will not eat ice cream when we’re there unless it’s vanilla.” “Check.”)
More likely, their eating habits have been changing. When they politely refused all non-vanilla ice cream a few years ago, it made a strong impression on me. It hasn’t occurred to me in the years since to try again in any kind of elaborate, investigative way. Most of the time I buy vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I’ll get strawberry or coffee for me and G, but they always turn that down, so I assumed they still liked nothing but vanilla.
Maybe that’s not it at all, though. Maybe they’re just not crazy about strawberry and coffee ice cream.
Last night I watched them both down gourmet chocolate gelato.
I wonder what else that I think “just is” really isn’t.
* * * * *
I just went into Jack’s room to ask him again what flavors of ice cream he eats. He added Rocky Road, chocolate, and a particular kind of chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream to his list.
“All these years I’ve been thinking you ate nothing but vanilla ice cream,” I told him.
“Hunh??? Why would you think that?”
“Well, because I kept offering you strawberry and coffee and you didn’t want it.”
“That’s because it’s coffee and strawberry.”
“I’ve also seen you turn down chocolate ice cream, though. But it sounds like you like that now.”
“Hmmm.”
Exactly.
My kids always had stuff they would eat with me and stuff they would eat with their dad. Stuff exclusive to dad included the ravioli special from Domenico’s and Himeko (now Maki & Yaki) chicken (dad was big on buying dinner). On the other hand, one of my dinner items was ‘white girl enchiladas’ - I still get requests for them from time to time. I think they liked having ‘traditions’ that did not cross over from house to house.
That’s so interesting! I wonder if this is a really common thing. How odd and funny!
I bet they would like chicken tacos or regular hamburger taco’s for that matter and i bet they would like to eat them the way I do
Kids are very interesting people, aren’t they?
I had a minor epiphany while swimming two days ago. The two new types of cookies my stepsons declared they loved and wanted, even though they had rejected them and anything else like them (ie: not Nestle’s Chocolate Chip Cookies) for years?
I had made them for other people. The trays were on the counter, the cookies were to be packed up and shipped or taken away. It wasn’t me saying, “Please eat these cookies I made, hoping you will love them and then love me.” It wasn’t them having to say, “I accept your love in the form of these strange flavored cookies, which may or may not be better than my mother’s cookies, which may or may not be a betrayal of loyalty.” It was just some warm, fresh-baked cookies on a counter. Their decision. No strings.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s a coincidence…
That *is* interesting. Hmmmm….. Food for thought.