"Mmm, hon, it smells wonderful. Here's your stool, Seth, wash your hands." Seth washes his little hands intensely. I'm a little worried that the "good hygiene" special speaker that came to his kindergarten class scared him a little too straight, but if all it means is cleaner hands, then it's not that big of a deal.
"Thanks, Jo. It's almost done. Just have to tidy up a bit."
"I wanna set the table!"
"We'll both do it. Here are the forks, the knives, and the chopsticks. Here are your special chopsticks. I'll get the plates." (
http://www.forsmallhands.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cP... )
I set up the plates and the gla**** of milk as Seth reaches to put the utensils in their places. Hopefully the novelty of setting the table won't wear off before he's old enough and tall enough to set them out straight. Jim sets the big heaping bowl of stir fry over wild rice on the trivet. The spring onions and turnips are in season, which is great, because they set off the beef wonderfully.
Some of my colleagues do not eat meat anymore due to the high relative energetic cost. But we buy this beef local, and we know the farmer, who does not use growth hormones or antibiotics because his cows are naturally large and disease-resistant. I should know. I analyzed the genome of his stud bull myself. Ecological vegetarianism is good and highly commendable, but human nature is hard to change. And I know it's in the nature of my husband and I to have trouble feeling full if there is not at least a little meat in our stir-fry.
I help Seth into his booster seat and then sit down. We all join hands.
"It's my turn!" chimes Seth. "Dear God, thank you for this day, and bless the hands that grew this food and Daddy who made it and help us to do good things with the enn-eer-gy that it gives us. Amen." I smile at his prayer, which is a copy of how mine usually goes at dinnertime. One day, he'll be better at making it his own. But today, his only job is to eat his vegetables.
*Note, my husband in this story exists and does cook stir-fry, although his name has been changed. I don't yet have any children, but I hope to by 2020.*
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