Food for Thought

Another old piece.

Summer is wonderful. We’ve been enjoying a slightly more relaxed lifestyle now that the school buses are parked. I don’t know what you had for breakfast this morning, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t what I had.

As a mom, I try to be gracious when presented with surprises, though sleep deprivation often keeps grace in a box on the shelf. And most days actually finding that box or even remembering which shelf it’s on is out of the question.

Last night I stayed up late watching Mexico beat Croatia in the World Cup of soccer. For those who are not soccer nuts the World Cup is the biggest men’s sporting event in the universe – though it’s called the World Cup because none of the competing teams are from another planet. It was a good game, though Croatia was not always playing politely (something a Mom notices – even if she is half-Croatian) but I digress.

I woke up tired and didn’t leap out of bed to make breakfast. And my husband didn’t leap out of bed to make breakfast either – which he nearly always does. So the five-year-old made breakfast. To truly appreciate this story you have to know the five-year-old is usually the reason we’re sleep deprived. But lately she’s sleeping through the night and incredibly energized by 6:30 am. So this morning she applied her energies to breakfast. She decided that my breakfast would be served in a bowl. My husband’s cereal was served in a red “You are Special Today” plate. She later told me “it was his turn because you had it last time”.

As a mom I have tried to teach my children the benefits of a balanced diet. I would like to think that is why this morning my cereal bowl was filled with half Harris Teeter Toasted Oats and half La Choy Chow Mein noodles. Admittedly I was still tired when I made it to my cereal bowl. But I managed a cheery “Thank you!” and “what a great breakfast”, added a large helping of blueberries with my soymilk and ate it all up. Then I explained that it was such a special breakfast that I could probably not eat it everyday. The five-year-old looked pleased with herself when she walked away. Then I hid the Chow Mein noodles.

Food for Thought © 2002
Janice Arrowood

Green Globs

This is an old piece that deserves to be posted.

I was in the shower when I noticed the first one. It was a small glob of green where the soap dish attached to the tile wall. Given my poor eyesight I was lucky to notice it, but the color caught my eye. The mold in our bathroom is usually red or black so I figured the glob was the product of human hands. Small human hands.

The morning flew by with the usual rush to get children up, dressed, fed and out the door to the bus stop. I forgot to ask about the green glob. To be honest I forget about almost everything that doesn’t grab onto my arms or legs or scream to be fed.

I spotted the next green glob in the corner of a picture frame. There was another green glob in the refrigerator. Clearly this was the work of a mastermind – I wouldn’t have given it a second thought if it had been fuzzy.

As I worked my way through the day I found several more little green globs. The mystery was getting to me. The color was too. Fearing I might not notice the seemingly obvious ones until the next millenium I began to remove them. Even in my house bright green globs can be unsightly.

As school days ended I rounded up the usual suspects. I planned to interrogate them in a friendly manner, but I wanted the truth. “Do either of you know anything about little green globs hidden around the house?” No one spoke. “I keep finding them in the strangest places and I just don’t know what to think about them.” The little one looked confused, like she wasn’t sure if she was guilty or not. The big one spoke up. “I was playing Spy Kids, Mom.” “OK” I said, “what are the little green globs supposed to be?” “Cameras” she replied.

Cameras, hither and yon, I pondered. A visionary thought, though not original. With a husband in the security business I know about the real looking but empty camera boxes that some businesses set up to make people think they’re being watched. I had a thought. The green glob version required a tad more imagination, but with some effort I could make it work. Green globs could enforce teeth brushing and discourage dirty clothes piles. The opportunities were limitless, but the thought was fleeting.

It’s been a long time since I first noticed the green globs – excuse me – the cameras. I decided to leave some of them around the house. Every morning in the shower I look right into the corner of the soap dish and I smile my best smile. In about three years I’m going to move that camera to the big one’s car.

Janice Arrowood
Green Globs © 2007