Easter Kafuffle

Our friends, Carmine & Sarah, invited us over to their lovely home for a fabulous Easter dinner. Sarah is a fantastic cook, and she made ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, asparagus, rolls, and probably one or two other items I’m currently forgetting. Needless to say, everything was wonderful. Charlie, however, refused to touch anything, claiming, “I don’t like what Sarah cooks, I only like what you cook!” That statement is really funny to me, because I don’t cook if I can avoid it. Also, I’m sure he’s referring to the fact that we eat out entirely too often (though definitely not as often as we used to) and that he really likes restaurant food – and more specifically, Chick-fil-A. He was extremely difficult the entire night, prompting Sarah to say to him, “Charlie, I hope that the next time you come over, you’re in a better mood because you’re not very pleasant to be around right now.” I don’t blame her in the slightest. I couldn’t apologize enough for the way he was acting, even though Jamie and I did everything we could (short of murdering the child on the spot) to correct his behavior. When we got home that night, Charlie (of course) was hungry. While I was making him a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a banana to eat, Jamie was working on the dishes. Charlie continued to be difficult and went into “deaf-boy” mode (as I call it). At one point, Jamie, who was trying to help, turned around and scolded Charlie for not listening to me. Charlie looked at him and said very calmly and rationally, “Dad, just worry about your dishes!” I had to quickly clap a hand over my mouth and leave the room to avoid laughing at this deadpan comment in front of Charlie. I was laughing so hard, and trying desperately to contain the donkey guffaws that were clawing their way out of my throat, that I had tears pouring from my eyes!! I didn’t want Charlie to see that what he’d said was in any way funny – though it was! It made Jamie angry, though, I think. He immediately turned back to his dishes, most probably to avoid beating our child within an inch of his life for back-talking. Oh – it was funny. Charlie ate his entire sandwich and banana and went to bed. Do not pass “GO” do not collect $100.00! TTFN JMS