Family Life

Monday nights are swimming classes. Dinner eaten in a hurry, bag packed, boys changed into swimming gear. Daniel and Joel had both had a nap this afternoon and were ready for the evening. When we arrived home after swimming, Daniel announced that he had done everything his instructor asked. He was proud of himself, to be able to make a good report. And indeed he had done well. From where I was across the pool with Joel, from time to time I’d glance in Daniel’s direction and observed that he was fully participating and enjoying himself.

The boys played for a while, Daniel and Debbie read to each other for a while, and then we got the boys ready for bed. Just as I was about to brush his teeth, Daniel asked if he could maybe, perhaps, if it wasn’t too much trouble, have a little snack. Maybe just a slice of raisin toast.

I paused. I thought about it. OK. The less hungry he is in the morning, the less likely he’ll wake up early and come asking for breakfast. Thus, the more likely we’ll be able to sleep at least until the alarm clock goes off. No problem. I can toast a slice of bread.

He was still hungry after the toast, so I fed him a weetbix in a bowl full of milk. With sugar and cinnamon.

That got polished off approximately in the time it took me to walk upstairs and back down again. Then Daniel wondered if maybe he could have some fruit. Would grapes be OK? Grapes would be just fine! So he had five grapes.

Then he asked for a banana. A whole one, not to be shared with Joel. About halfway through, Debbie asked if maybe he could spare a little piece of banana for Micah to try. No. He could not.

After the banana, he asked for some kiwi fruit (which he knew we had). Debbie decided that he’d better not have too much fruit in one sitting, and offered some substitutes. Daniel settled on Cheerios (kind of like Fruit Loops, but slightly less sickeningly sweet). So he got a pile of those in front of him, to eat dry.

He finally started to slow down as the pile dwindled, but when they were all gone he asked if there was anything else to eat.

Our three-year-old has become a teenager! It was fascinating to sit and watch him eat one thing after another, wolfing it down as if he hadn’t had a full meal just a couple of hours before. He’ll probably wake at 6:30 in the morning, complaining that he’s hungry and asking for breakfast.

Photo note: choose your metaphor–Hungry as a horse, or, So hungry I could eat a horse. Either will do.

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