RAWR!

Theories and Hope

You know how sometimes you REALLY want to be wrong about something? I REALLY want to be wrong about something. To describe why I want to be wrong, I have to go back in time about eight years.

Eight years ago at this time, I couldn't stand junk food. AT ALL. I went from considering ice cream, french fries, and pizza food groups to gagging when I ate a honey graham cracker because OMG TOO SWEET BLECH.

It sucked.

Hard.

For nine solid months, everything I loved about food was wrong. My world was turned upside down as candy made me sick, french fries tasted disgusting, and just back away with your Taco Bell anything because PUKE.

And then Alexis was born.

*POOF!*

Suddenly, my love for junk food returned. My aversion to junk was all her fault. CLEARLY. She had taken over my sensibilities and taste buds while in the womb, but I took them right back again.

Fast forward a year or two, and you'll note that the kid was the first I'd ever met who couldn't be bribed with a M&M because she swore they were "yucky" and "too sweet" and HOW IS SHE MY KID?

It doesn't make any sense, but maybe it does. For as long as she was on board, she forced me into her healthy food preferences, but then she took that with her. Which, HOORAY! It's so nice having a friendly relationship with ice cream again.

Fast forward seven years or so to today and GIVE ME THE JUNK. ALL OF IT. MORE THAN EVER. Like, really, junk food is so my friend. Got any Halloween candy left? Because I can take care of that. How about some french fries? Taco Bell anything? DO YOU HAVE ICE CREAM? DO YOU?

Screw your soups and salads and veggie sandwiches. While they were required just five short months ago because I really do believe in balance, MEH. I don't need them now.

If this means that the next tiny person is going to be a lover of junk food, I am in *so* much trouble. SO MUCH.

I better be wrong about my theory that what you eat while pregnant is what the kid eats later. Ain't no way there can be someone who loves junk food more than me in this house.

The Best of the Good

I'm pretty sure I've written about it before, but with over seven years worth of posts, it's not all that surprising that I can't find it. There's this thing I torture Alexis with every single day. I've done it for as long as she could talk.

"Tell me about your day," I say. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I've changed the phrasing of the question over the years, but the intent is always the same. Tell me how your day went, and give me details. "Fine" is not an acceptable answer. Ever.

Alexis knows it's not. For now, she's not fighting me on the issue. I have a whole line of questioning I'm willing to resort when she tries, but she rarely does. She happily gives me a few highlights and lowlights about her day. In fact, she's so used to the questions that she usually answers the second one before I even say it.

The second question, if she doesn't give me enough information after the first, is "What was your favorite part of today?" I also ask what she didn't like, but we start with the good because I think it's a gift to be able to stop and ponder what was good about each and every day.

Hopefully that skill will serve her well over the years.

Earlier I was thinking that I really should practice what I preach. I should do a better job of stopping at some point, pondering my day, and deciding what was good about it. I'm not terrible about picking through a bad day and identifying the things that made it all better, but there's always room for improvement.

But then I realized something.

As I asked Alexis about her day today, she started with a story about gym class. There was some bad and some good about the game they played today, but the way she told the story? That. THAT right there was the best part of my day.

The way she answers that question is pretty much always the best part of every day. Ain't no shame in that, so I plan to embrace that as my daily answer.

Oh, by the way, she started her story about gym class by saying, "Well, me and my crew ..."

You guys, she has "a crew."

Awesome.