I promise to eat healthy foods….
Except for the whole Burger King/Star Wars thing a few months back, we don’t let Daniel eat a whole lot of fast food. We don’t really have too much against it and it’s great for those days when you’re rushing through the grocery store and have a cake to make when you get home and don’t really want to fool with making (and arguing about) lunch, but it’s not the best for you, so we do try to limit it somewhat.
Well, today was one of those days when I was rushing through the grocery store and had to make a cake when I got home and didn’t really want to fool with making (and arguing about) lunch. So when leaving the grocery store, the golden arches from across the street caught my eye. I turned to Daniel, knowing I was about to make his day and asked him if he wanted a Happy Meal. Of course he said yes and we made our way through the drive-thru. He happily ate his Happy Meal and enjoyed a medium coke. We got home, I started my cake and thought nothing else of the fast food lunch.
Today also happened to be a karate day. There are quite a few new children in Daniel’s karate class, so the instructors were having the kids recite their Little Dragon Creeds to help the new ones learn it. The first creed is "I promise to say ‘I can do it’ and eat healthy foods!".
Still no thoughts of the earlier not-so-nutritious meal. I just sat there smiling and watched all the little kids in their little karate uniforms try to say his or her creed louder than the person next to him.
But then…the instructor said "Daniel! Did you eat any healthy food today?" And I sunk as far as you can sink when sitting on a 6 inch wooden bench, trying to hide myself from the shame, thinking ‘Why did they choose today of all days to ask him what he’s had to eat?!?,’ as I could just hear Daniel say "I had McDonald’s for lunch!", but he didn’t! He stood there thinking about all the things he ate today, trying to figure out the best one to say. I sat there quietly biting my lip, sending messages telepathically to him, "Say apple! Say apple!"
Finally he said "I had scrambled eggs and orange juice for breakfast this morning." And the instructor said that was a very healthy thing to eat, he was doing good at following his Little Dragon Creed. And I breathed. And I smiled…or maybe it was a little smirk because they were on to the next kid and he said he had waffles with something like a gallon of syrup on them and I could just see his mom turning red.
My lesson today is one that I will rarely forget….don’t get Happy Meals on karate days.
