I am a dragon, and I celebrate the arrival of the Lunar Year
'I am a meat lover! I LOVE MEAT!' my tubby son says with pride. He has been spending a lot of time with Dad, obviously...so today since he was home, sick, I decided to take him to my favorite Vegan/Raw restaurant for some homemade Vietnamese noodle soup called Pho. It would open his sinuses.
It would also challenge his world view.
I extracted a promise from him in the car to be on his best behavior. 'I know the owner and I want you to make good choices, even if you don't like anything you won't have to eat it, but you have to be nice.' He agreed.
He panicked over the menu. I took it away and gave him his iPad so he could finish his movie, 'The Fabulous Mr. Fox'. He refused everything I suggested. So I ordered for him. Chocolate 'shake' with healthy, non-dairy ingredients, and Chik'n pho. When the food arrived I could tell he was dying a thousand deaths. Slowly he drank the chocolate, and after the mandatory two spoon fulls of broth, he decided not to eat.
I shared my disappointment in his choices, because 'You know how the food everywhere else you go to eat, you have to make the choices what is least bad for you? It is not like this here. Everything here is good fuel to make you strong and healthy.'
He didn't flinch. At least I had taken the iPad away so it would not get water damage. And he was listening, but trying not to let it show.
'See those people at the bar?'
'What bar?'
'That bar over there'
'Why is there a bar in a healthy restaurant?'
'It is not a BAR--bar, they serve healthy drinks. Some of those people there, and in this restaurant, may have been fighting bad diseases like Grandma is with her cancer. They come here to get healthy. And see these necklaces with the fragrance? They came from here. Chef made them.'
He was looking and listening now. I could see the wheels starting to turn in his little head.
'And even the ENERGY here is good for you, if you don't choose to eat. This is something that as a Reiki Master is would be good for you to be exposed to.'
And he relaxed. We laughed easily and often at that table!
I let him order whatever dessert he wanted. He started playing with the chopsticks and making airplane noises. He didn't have to fight the 'vegetarian-vegan-raw' label any more. He did ask what raw was. I said, 'A salad is raw. There are many things like that here.'
He excused himself to go to the restroom. 'Mom, it was a lot cleaner than I would have thought. There was not a spot or ANYTHING!'
And at the end of the meal, he asked me the most important question of them all!
'Mom? Do you think there is gum under the table?'
'I don't know! How would I know?'
'Guess!'
'Okay--yes!'
'That's right! there is yellow gum under this table. I peeked when you went to the ladies' room.'
We have a long way to go against the conditioning of this child to the Kid's Meal. Two weeks ago I discovered the bean burrito in the lunch box. Today I tried this. It is a never-ending work as a mother to bring out the best in her kids...
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
