On raising children … and parents

For some reason, the past few weeks I’ve been having trouble sleeping at night for various reasons: too much on my mind, a persistent cough, etc.

So, while I’m trying to make my mind slow down and rest, I thought I’d post a little. I came across this post on raising children a few nights ago while looking at Wordpress themes of all things.

The circumstances under which this woman writes about her children are so different from what Susan and I have experienced, yet I can relate to the emotion behind her words.

… there are no do-overs in parenthood. There is only today and the immediate now.

I think about my part in raising our children alot and wonder if I read the manual right when we brought them home from the hospital. We’ve tried to introduce them to a lot of different experiences to let them choose what they like and what they don’t like.

Which brings me to dinner tonight.

We’ve tried to introduce the kids to a lot of different foods. Both kids absolutely love broccoli, asparagus (when cooked my way) and cauliflower. Abby started eating salmon when she was about 2 as did Camille. In fact, seafood is a big hit in our house. Shrimp, fish, crab (until we found out Abby has an allergy to it) are all welcome at our table.

Tonight, with my parents in town, I decided to cook something a little different from the chicken and beef we’ve been eating so much lately. So, after spending a good chunk of the day at work, I went shopping for something we hadn’t eaten in awhile.

We cooked up baked Gruyere scallops, steamed broccoli and a simple salad with mixed greens, onion and feta and French bread.

The girls dug in, as did my lovely wife AND my parents.

During dinner, my parents blew me away when they told me they had never eaten scallops before. Never.

It surprised the hell out of me. My dad, who eats fish more than a shark. My mom, who was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and was practically weaned on crabs and fish. Both have eaten oysters on the half shell and soft shell crabs.

But neither had eaten scallops before. Or mussels. Not even calamari.

They’ve seen scallops before. They’ve even had them on their plate at dinner before. But they’ve never eaten them. My dad said he never knew how to cook them. This is the man who I call for recipes.

I think that it’s rare if at all possible to get a do-over in parenthood.

But maybe you can teach your parents a few new tricks. I’m looking forward to the day when our girls do the same for us.