Eat it - Or, I'll shove it down your throat

No, I haven't said that ... not yet, anyway. But, I've wanted to, especially when I know it's a food she liked just the day prior.

One of my dearest twin girls has become a fussy toddler. Suddenly. Practically overnight. She'll eat one meal with little protest and the other two -- please God let it be just two today -- with a huge battle. She will look at her plate and close her eyes and turn away in disgust, crying. She's starving hungry, but she won't touch it. To hell with people who say a child won't starve themselves. This child would.

I am on the front lines of the food wars, folks.

Luckily, I know I am not alone. My friends in the blogosphere soothe me with their kind words of honesty about this topic.

So, lunch was two fruit and cereal bars and some raisins instead of the peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, a slice of cheese and peaches. And, dinner was 8 small meatballs instead of spaghetti and meatballs and green beans. Though, a game of 10 little, 9 little, 8 little green beans with her sister, who was happily eating, coaxed her into trying -- then realizing she likes green beans. Duh. (There are some advantages to having twins.)

Of course, I'm breaking all of the picky eater rules by giving her more stuff that wasn't planned after dinner because I know she -- well, they both were last night -- was still hungry. I do have a rule about nutritious snacks only so they had an apple and Zoe's cereal. Except, unlike dinner, the apple was swallowed instead of spit out in that special, "Look Mama, I diced apples for you today" way.

Besides I fully admit that the only reason I want her to eat said meal is because I want her to sleep for her nap or at bedtime. I worry that if she goes to bed hungry she'll wake up starving in the middle of the night.

So, anyway, a new battle has been waged. But, I'm up for the challenge today. Momma Zen has done it again; she brought me peace when I thought it was burning in the California fires. I thought it was lost forever and that I would be grieving for it the rest of my life. She also brought me to sobs. Not tears, but sobs that told me the stress of everything was finally able to release inside of me.

And, then, I read Bella's recent post.

And, I wanted to fly into her comfy arms and give her a hug.

Those two posts made dinnertime better, even though it wasn't an improvement by any standards. The only thing that changed was my disposition. My mental awareness. My capacity to hold it all and watch it unfold, even the apple spit.

Today is a new day, and despite saying that three other times this week, it really is going to be a new day. We really are going to have a good day.

I am going to trust my daughter today. And, I am going to trust myself.

Food will not be an issue in this house.

This post was written for ParentBlogger's "Deliciously Deceptive" blog blast.


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