Ketchup & Butter

Ohhhhhhhhh man. This kid. He keeps us on our toes. Ketchup & Butter are 2 stories within 1 story. Both occurred during the same outing to a restaurant. But I feel the need to tell them separately.

So here goes Ketchup:

Well, it finally happened. That one thing your kid does that is so heinous & disgusting that you actually almost lose your dinner right then & there.

He LICKED the top of a bottle of ketchup. At a restaurant.

A little part of me died inside when it happened. I felt it. And I am NOT a germ-a-phobe. But the thought of every horrific disease and infection he could possibly catch ran through my head in that moment.

And then he smiled at me. With that mischievous smile…

My first reaction was to snatch that bottle of ketchup away as fast as I could.

My second reaction was to immediately notify the waitress to throw that bottle of ketchup away (God, I hope she threw that bottle of ketchup away).

But, after I got over the initial shock & disgust, I thought about Declan’s little toddler mind. And how he had no idea the risks that came along with licking that ketchup bottle (I just gagged a little while typing that, so clearly, I am not yet over this).

So even though he could very well have swallowed every germ imaginable, he didn’t care. He couldn’t see the risk. He only saw the reward.

And it made me want to go back to that time in my life where I didn’t analyze EVERY decision. Where I didn’t weigh EVERY risk.

To go after the things I want in life like a toddler licking a DISGUSTING, DIRTY, GERM-FILLED Ketchup Bottle!!!!!

So right on kid. Keep doing you. Keep being oblivious to invisible risks and not letting them cause irrational fear in you. Keep licking those ketchup bottles. Just don’t let your mama see it, okay???

And now, BUTTER:

Same kid. Same Restaurant. Same Night.

I should preface by saying that some time in the last couple of months, my 2 year old has discovered butter. Plain old, straight up, BUTTER. And he has become borderline obsessed.

We can’t even keep it out on the counter anymore.

He will find it. He will snatch it. He will eat it. ALL.

But this proves a bit problematic at restaurants when they set that cute little basket of bread on our table with all those tiny, individual packages of Declan’s drug of choice.

We can try to hide them before he sees them, but I swear, he sniffs them out. He just KNOWS.

And then it begins…

He starts yelling “BUUUUTTTTAAAAA!!!!” like a mad man. In the middle of a restaurant.

My husband and I quickly become like hostage negotiators frantically trying to decide what to do before he disturbs the entire restaurant.

Do we just let him have as many packages of butter that his little heart desires? Do we use this as a teachable moment? Do we stop eating out until he gets his driver’s license? (the exact thoughts that run through my head)

For the record, this time, we gave the kid some butter. Pick your battles my friends.

But again, after the dust had settled and we returned home from dinner, I thought about our night and the butter and tried to put myself in his little shoes and figure out what he was thinking. (this exercise always helps me with my patience)

And again, I saw a little boy who only saw what he wanted. Some butter. So he demanded it.

Now please don’t confuse this for me saying we should give our children anything and everything they demand. I am not. And I promise you, if this situation arises again, we will be much better prepared to teach Declan some boundaries.

But what it made me think about is how often I am quick to give up the desires of my heart just because someone says I can’t. Or I shouldn’t.

When do we become so conditioned to stop demanding the things we want & deserve in life? Things like respect. Caring. Being treated fairly. Freedom. Love.

So Declan, thanks for reminding your mom tonight to accept nothing less than the desires of my heart. The things that I deserve. The butter in life.

Next time we go out to eat, you can have some butter buddy. But just one.