We tried spinach and potatoes last night and the first bite elicited our very first grimace -- we didn't even get one with pickles! He opened right up for another bite though and for a while just looked confused. Then he started whining between bites and about halfway through the jar the whines turned to near crying.
The funny part was, he kept opening up for more bites, so I've decided he inheritied my ridiculous optimism. I'm the kind of person that will persist in a friendship no matter how many times I'm cancelled on or left waiting while someone is 5, 10, 15 minutes late. I also truly believe that I'm going to live happily ever after, the sun is going to come out tomorrow, etc.
Granted, I know that a huge part of my optimism is due to my faith in God and His perfect plan for and ultimate control over my life...but I've always been this way.
I think that deep down in our DNA both Charlie and I possess a happy gene. Now life experiences and disappointments can block it, I'm sure, but it's there. It's the reason we both wake up grinning in the morning and laugh more than anything else.
As parents, I guess Jason's and my job is to nurture this natural phenomenon within our little Charlie-bear and help it to grow -- but I truly believe it's just part of who he is.
To finish the story, I gave up on the spinach halfway through the jar out of guilt, and we moved on to pears. The whining ceased until the pears were gone, but Charlie was still hungry, so we went back the spinach. He gave it another fair shot and ended up eating almost three quarters of the jar. We'll see how it goes tonight -- who knows, maybe he'll love it!
Good morning, Sunshine!
