I kind of freaked out yesterday.
Saturday I came home to find a bag of Doritos in the pantry and a giant container of KoolAid mix in the cupboard. In some households this is nothing at all, but in this house, in this month, it could have been enough to set off Armageddon.
Somehow I managed to hold my tongue until Sunday naptime, and then let forth with why I was upset in what I think ended up being a pretty calm tone. Basically it boiled down to, “I don’t feel supported in what I’m trying to do for this family.”
I’m not sure what the heck was going on because it seemed like he listened. OMG, y’all.
For him it boils down to not knowing how to put ingredients together to make something edible. Somehow that translates to buying the stuff he knows how to eat. I say “eat” because I don’t count any of the stuff he was bringing home as cooking. I’m already someone else’s mommy, so I’m not exactly jumping at the thought of preparing every last bite for a grown man.
I do have to admit it has been a little bit more trying this past week on the Eat Local front, since SXSW events have thrown a wrench in our otherwise-stable meal planning. Now that we’re back to our normal schedule, it should be easier. I can only hope, at least.
Last night he sat down with me to watch the preview of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and at one point I turned to him and said, “SEE?!” No, I don’t necessarily think our family will end up as bad off as the featured family in the episode (we both have fairly good metabolisms to battle the junk we eat) but it’s a sign of what could happen. It’s happening to the rest of America, after all.
This is what I’m fighting for. My sweet boy who loves fruits and vegetables and the farmer’s markets. Who will also chow down on Doritos if he gets his hands on them. He learns by example, and if we can’t start out right with the basics, with food, I’m worried about where it goes from here.
There’s a reason why we call it junk food. Why do we put it into our bodies? After all, the other stuff we call junk usually is actual garbage. OK, I know people are paid big bucks to come up with that magical concoction of salt, fat, and sugar. And I know that sometimes I eat it too. I’m not perfect in my efforts.
We’ve got to have each other’s backs. If we don’t have support the change is that much harder – not only to show us why we’re changing and to congratulate accomplishments, but to pick us back up when we fail. And so we both are going to try harder.
Although, I have to admit it would have felt pretty good to scream at him.
5 Responses to The Try Try Try
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I think it’s good that you guys had the talk. And it sounds like he was receptive to maybe learning a bit more. I think sometimes guys just don’t really know how to express their frustrations.
Do you guys ever do a pizza night? I don’t have a family of my own but I remember how much fun it was as a kid making homemade pizza. Now I do it for myself once a week and it’s so much fun to roll out the dough (thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day I always have dough in the fridge) and toss on some toppings. (omg I made the most killer margherita pizza tonight with some local cheese, homemade sauce and dough, and basil from my yard)
Anyway, if you guys don’t already do that, that would be something he could learn how to assemble (and your little boy could help put toppings on), and then from there graduate to learning how to make the sauce and roll out the dough. Pizza’s very interactive without a whole lot of effort and everyone loves it.
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Megan Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:14 am
We do have pizza (almost) every Friday night! I’ve taught him how to do all the steps but I think he is afraid of screwing it up or something, because he’ll go buy a pizza before even attempting to make it.
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You know how they say in pre-marital counseling that sex, communication, and money are the hardest topics to deal with in marriage? Ours is food! LOL. It is better now since my husband started supporting me as a vegan, MUCH better than before when I was forcing my self as opposed to explaining to him why I needed to do it if he would not join me. I still make him foods he likes but mostly makes foods I can only eat and he has been super happy and supportive. Now if I left him alone, he probably would revert to eating poorly, but he jokes and tells me that our kids aer not going to eat cardboard (since he refers to bran and health foods as such), but I know he would be supportive. It is a different mentality that men have. It ALMOST seems as though we might be taking away what they love, like their pizza or burgers and fries, when it is taking a healthier approach. We are getting there so hold on for hope!
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I can relate to this. Maybe not so extreme, but I DO try to just have healthy things for Wes and Brock is constantly insisting on getting him things like Lunchables and Easy Mac (UGH) and passing them off as proper meals! Not often, but any at all drives me nuts AND makes me look like the not cool parent in Wesley’s eyes because I don’t like him to have those things and never buy them.
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Megan Reply:
March 24th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@Heather, I’m so glad that right now Reese doesn’t know what cool is. I’m crossing my fingers that by the time he gets to that point, we’ll have instilled good enough eating habits that he won’t feel like he is missing out. Or maybe, just maybe, by then it won’t be an issue in schools!
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