Forbidden Fruit

Kai proudly walked in to the bathroom this morning balancing a plastic pink scalloped plate with a fake piece of cake on it, and a matching miniature teacup. Carefully, he slid the plate on the counter top, grinned up at me and announced, “Here mommy, you protein bahhh and wader.”

“Oh, thank you Kai!” I said, nibbling my cake/protein bar and sipping the water.

“You’re welcome!” he said, turning his back to me. I watched, smiling to myself as he headed back to his work in the playroom.

It got me thinking. They really do watch everything you do, and apparently what you eat. Poor Kai. He is dying for a protein bar, but I don’t let the kids have them. Those puppies are expensive and I save them for when I am working a lot and driving all over the place.

I am probably setting up the perfect “forbidden fruit” scenario. Kai will be a grown man who just can’t get enough of the peanut butter Pure Protein bars. He’ll eat one before dinner, just for the heck of it. He’ll eat two in a day. His underwear drawer will house an emergency stash of bars.

Growing up in our house, the forbidden item was pop, specifically Pepsi. We couldn’t drink pop until high school, unless of course, we were eating Mexican or pizza, then pop was allowed. I guess my mom felt that restricting soda from these meals bordered as cruel and unusual punishment. I’d have to agree.

To this day, I truly enjoy soda. I drink diet soda, but know it does nothing for my body and water would serve me much better. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times, but then I run into the problem of what to drink with Mexican and pizza. Water is not an option, it just does not add to the experience at all. I’m not too fond of beer. What does that leave me with? Kool-aide? Well, now, that is just silly. I certainly can’t give those foods all together, what is life like without Mexican food and pizza? I do not want to know.

So into this life a little soda shall rain. It’s a simple treat, even now that is no longer technically forbidden.