Making fun
Kids say the darnedest things sometimes. Never is that proven more distinctly then when my four year old, Alaynah, opens her mouth.
Given Sandi's health status we have had a lot of help from friends as it relates to preparing meals, watching the kids, transportation, etc. Last night we had a meal that one of our dear friends prepared for us. It happened to be Lasagna.
My daughter Rebekah, for some unknown reason, has a particular distaste for lasagna. Not that this little piece of information concerns me. I am her dad after all, and if lasagna is what is for dinner then that is what we all, as a family, are going to be eating. So last night, as expected with a finicky eater, Rebekah did everything possible to not eat the food she was served.
To facilitate an attitude of gratitude I ask my children that no matter what is served, whether they like it or not, that they at least eat some small amount of the meal. I follow my own advice, once eating all three garbanzo beans that we placed before, albeit strategically hidden placed within the salad at the time, so there is no hypocrisy to be found in this rule that I feel strongly about. My children are all aware of this rule and they do their best to accommodate my request.
So last night, after a short stint at the dinner table, Rebekah asks me if she can be excused. I look at her plate and notice that the half slice of lasagna I had served her had been cut in half, with one half still in tact on one side of the plate and the other half somewhat disheveled on the other side of her plate. As she showed me her plate she told me "I ate half of what you served me."
Looking at her plate I could not help but feel as though she may have not eaten the half she thought she did. I told her "Half of your lasagna is on that half of your plate and half of your lasagna is on the other half of your plate. Which half did you eat?" This garnered a raucous laughter from the rest of us and also gave Rebekah cause to frown somewhat at the thought of being the center of everyone's laughter. But without skipping a beat or missing a step, Alaynah looked at her older sister and comforted her with this little gem:
"It's OK Bekah, we are not making fun of you. We are just laughing at you."
No, that didn't make Rebekah feel better. But it did make everyone laugh a little more.
