Debra Rossing

I remember being in the grocery store once many years ago (DS was still
under 5, he's 11 now) and mentioning something casually as we stood in
line about the bags of those neon orange "circus peanuts" (basically
stiff marshmallow things, sugar + air + coloring) and how when I was
little they were a 'favorite' thing. As you'd probably expect, that
piqued DS' interest and he asked for them. 99 cents, okay, that's doable
for a bag. Got them home. He headed straight for them. Ate HALF of one
and put it down. To his taste, they were too sweet and fairly boring. I
ate one or two and then we tossed the bag. On the other hand, he fell in
love with a particular type of snack cake. I'd buy a box a week when I
shopped and they'd be gone in a day, maybe two. DS wanted them every
week and any other time he could get them (at a mini mart) as well. So
we kept buying them. One week, that particular item was on special at
the market. When we got to there in our shopping, I told DS to get FIVE
boxes - he was Ecstatic! As expected, first box disappeared in a day or
two. Second box took a bit longer, by the third box, it was taking a
while, and by boxes 4 and 5, DH and I were more likely to grab them than
DS was. He'd moved on to other things - there was no need to get them
quickly because they'd be there whenever he wanted them, it didn't have
to occupy as much thought space. Fast forward a bunch of years...we've
got a houseguest from Italy this month and he brought some gifts with
him for us...the thing that brought the biggest sparkle to DS' eyes was
a HUGE amazing chunk of REAL Parmesan side by side with a BIG chunk of
awesome Romano. DS was bouncing happy when he saw that (surprised our
guest a little, he expected that the soccer jersey would be the bigger
hit...) This is a kid who tries to guess the percentage of cocoa in dark
chocolates now... We've had guests over for dinner who were a bit
startled that he'd put aside half a donut (double chocolate!) to eat
some steamed broccoli and salmon and then go back to the donut. And
therein lies the key - in his non-baggage mind, a double chocolate donut
and steamed broccoli are equal 'value', which he eats when just depends
on what he feels his body needs at the moment. It's not either donut or
broccoli - it's BOTH!

Deb R


**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.

www.mastercam.com
**********************************************************************


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]