Giving peas a chance

by Judy Schwartz Haley

I don’t like peas. I would almost go so far as to say that I hate peas. Well, not really. I can appreciate them in theory, I know they’re healthy, I just really, really don’t want to eat them.

But…

As a mom, I don’t want to pass along my pea issues to my kiddo. How do I give her opportunities to make up her own mind about peas without inadvertently influencing or limiting her own ability to enjoy them? I want her to like them, but it’s difficult not to shudder in their presence.

Well, true to form, my kid finds a way to make being her mom easy. (Yes, I know the teenage years are coming, and no I’m not prepared.)

She is completely enamored with the little garden out back at our favorite coffee shop, C & P Coffee Company. She loves to inspect and name off the different plants: rosemary, oregano, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and, yes, peas. She doesn’t just name them, she works her way through that tiny garden like a little rabbit, munching away on strawberries and lettuce, and, yes, peas. (she tried the rosemary and oregano, as well. Once.)

This little garden makes it easy for me to get excited and show some enthusiasm for the peas. I love the flowers,

and I just can’t get enough of those curly tendrils.

And as I’m ooh-ing and ah-ing over these beautiful plants, getting lost in the moment with my camera, my precious little girl reaches up and hands me a baby pea as though she were giving me a gift. I couldn’t turn it down, so I ate it. And it wasn’t that bad.

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Elsewhere on the interwebs:

Check out my piece on on cancer and guilt at Survivorship Partners.

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See page 2 for the WW linkup.