Aquiring a taste.

I've known lots of parents who won't give their children sugar. I don't happen to be one of them, but I do understand the reasoning behind it. Why would they then want to continue with bland cereal and vegetables after tasting the sweetness? But isn't it so fun to aquire a taste for something new?

I was eating a candy cane the other night when McCall and Libby stopped by. I figured a few licks wouldn't matter, right? (Actually I just wanted to see how Libby would react to the candy cane.)

That became our entertainment for the next several minutes. :)

Now Libby is only 4 months old. Her mother has only tried to feed her rice cereal once and she wanted nothing to do with it. Strictly breast milk and formula, (oh and some medicinal drops) until now - now she can add peppermint to her taste repertoire. (I know that doesn't really fit there, but it's a really great word and I thought of it right that second so I think I will leave it.)

Libby has just barely started reaching for things too, but she sure tried to grab that candy cane with enthousiasm! And her little tongue just kept lapping at it ... like a puppy, 'cause she just didn't know quite how that was supposed to work. It was adorable.

Now I am such a creature of habit that I normally don't like to try new things. Not because I'm not "adventurous" but because I like certain things so much, that if I try something new and it isn't as good, I am disappointed. So I tend to stick with what I like and then I'm not usually disappointed.

When my family was living back in Connecticut, my brother and I had been invited over to our friend, Ann Marie's house. We didn't know her family very well because they had recently moved into the area from Atlanta. They were very southern and VERY proper.

Mrs. Googe invited us to stay for lunch and had graciously made sandwiches. We all sat down at the table. Mine had mayonaise and tomatoes on it. I didn't like mayonaise and tomatoes. What was I going to do?

My sandwich repertoire (there's that word again) consisted of plain peanut butter, cheese and mustard, peanut butter with cheese and mustard, or ham and cheese with mustard.

I remember sitting for a long time. Probably talking to avoid taking a bite. But I didn't want to be rude and not eat it, or pick it off and say I didn't like it, so eventually I had no choice but to pick the sandwich up and take a bite ...

And then I felt just like the character in Green Eggs and Ham when he says, "Say! I do like these green eggs and ham! I do like them, Sam I am!" I LIKED it! I really did. And I was totally and completely surprised by that.

It had probably been years since I had tried it, or perhaps I had never tried it (it being mayonaise and tomatoes on a sandwich) but my sister was right when she said I had been missing out! That really adds some nice "flava" to a sandwich!

(I do still eat my McDonald's burgers plain, but everywhere else, I add tomatoes and mayo!)