My Craving For Approval Was Ruining Their Appetites
I hung up my apron and turned off the stove because I was sick of hearing two little voices say "I don't like it." Before
you give me the ever-present judgmental attitude, let me explain. It's been
a bumpy road along the way to familial bliss for my boyfriend, his two boys and
me. Our modern family has been more broken than innovative. I tried to
show my love for them with every "kid approved" recipe written. But
instead of turning our table into a scene from "The Brady Bunch" I
was left trying to cheer lead my meals into their mouths.
Our worlds were so far apart. They were
scared I was replacing their mother; I had no interest in trying to parent some
other woman's kids. I was tired, rejected and hurt so I did the mature
thing. I quit kitchen patrol.
Letting go of desperately
trying to win them over released the self-imposed pressure of having the boys
instantly adapt to my cooking and me. It freed them from feeling required
to like something they didn't: my food. Once the pressure was off, the boys
started to come around. There was nothing left to resist. They even
went as far as eating (I’m talking devouring) an entire pan of my homemade
Thomas Keller brownies at a family gathering. After all the family and friends were gone, and we had wiped the frosting off their little faces I realized something had changed. Their
hearts had softened. Not with
chocolate brownies, or my tenth try at Mac n' Cheese from scratch or buttermilk waffles (huge
fail by the way). I had won them over by just being me. A few years
have passed and I still get a few food requests from time to time. But
the pressure is off! I have learned their mini little taste buds have
nothing to do with their acceptance of me!
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