A NEW TRADITION

Christian is the pickiest eater I know. As he approaches nine years old, he at least will try the food, twist his face in to a hideous grimace while simultaneously shuddering and say, "I don't care for this...thank you". On occasion, Christian (and his parents) will be pleasantly surprised and he will exclaim with wide eyes, "Oh! This tastes good! I didn't' know (insert food here) tasted so yummy!"

Since it is cherry season, I thought I would evoke a new tradition with the kids:

Cherry pit spitting contest.

Let me preface this by saying that Bubby and I are quite uptight about spitting, burping, flagellating etc. The kids know that spitting is NEVER okay and that burping is NEVER on purpose and "excuse me's" are ALWAYS required.

Two rules:

1. We all have to spit from the same place so we can accurately account for who spit the furthest.

2. You must eat the cherry before saving your pit to spit.

The kids were excited about the chance to spit without punishment! One problem, Christian only likes one fruit: bananas. How would Christian involve himself with a once-a-year tradition where he could spit to his hearts content?

First Christian tried to convince his siblings to eat his cherries and save the pits for him. No Go. Then he tried whining and begging that he not eat the cherry and get to save the pit. No Way.

So Christian did what any other sane eight-year old would do, he ate the cherries.

Three beautiful things happened that day. Christian discovered he liked cherries. Christian got to spit for fun and you can tell by the smug look on his face, Christian won the contest.............