Glimpses

I love getting little reminders of what our kids were like when they were younger.  Little glimpses.

 Yesterday was Emma's birthday.  She was in California visiting Braeden's family, so we will celebrate this weekend.  It was also Lunar New Year, so Braeden said he would take Emma out for Chinese food and let her steal some stuffed animals.

Years ago, we accidentally went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant on Chinese New Year.  It was back when we went to dinner very infrequently with our young family and we just coincidentally chose a Chinese restaurant on Chinese New Year.   I think Braeden was about five and Emma was about three.   The kind people at the restaurant gave our children red envelopes of money.  They also gave Emma and Braeden stuffed dogs to play with while we were there.

At the end, Emma didn't want to give up the stuffed dogs.  We were prepared to just take them from her, hand them over and take our protesting girl home, but the people at the restaurant insisted she keep them.  I hope we gave them a good tip.

Emma loved those little dogs.  She named them Inca and Chinta (she's always been a namer of things).  About the same time, we made a snowman on a rare Pacific Northwest snow day and she named him Noogis.

Last night, Mark and I went to JCW's for dinner.  I don't know if it is because my red blood cells are low (they are) or because I have subsisted on a lot of applesauce and crackers (I have), but somewhere along the way after chemo, I want a burger.

We were standing in line and Mark said, "OK, now what are you going to say when you order?"

I said, "No onions, no mayonnaise."

He said, "Good job."

(I am at the infantilizing stage of motherhood with that one I guess.)

To be fair, he is always with me when I forget to ask for no onions or mayonnaise and he is there when I scrape it all off and castigate myself for my folly.

While we waited for our order, I told Mark I don't understand why I don't like mayonnaise.  I like things with mayo in them, like fry sauce or ranch dressing.  

Mark said, "I used to think mayonnaise was bad for you, like the Word of Wisdom."

Adam and I both dislike mayonnaise in equal measure so Mark didn't really have it much as a little kid.  He said, "One time I was with Grandma Geri and we were having sandwiches and she put mayonnaise on her sandwich, so I thought it must be OK, so I tried it."

The little rebel.

It kind of delighted me.  I love thinking about little boy Mark, trying to navigate his world, trying to figure out what condiments were morally acceptable.