He had always maintained his hate of tomatoes. Two years ago I made him try a small piece because I didn't really believe he'd ever tasted them and you can't hate what you don't know.
He gagged. I laughed. Case closed.
Fast forward two years and we're sitting at the dinner table, plates licked clean after a meal of homemade burgers and broccoli soup. Zander downs his milk and asks, "is there any more soup? I'm still hungry."
"Sorry," I say. "Soup's all gone. Have a pickle," and I hold out the bowl with the sliced dills and he shakes his head.
"Can I have a cookie?" he asks.
"How about a tomato?" and I show him the bowl that has four slices left in it.
"Gross!"
"Come on," I urge.
"Ew!"
"Just eat one."
"No!"
"Tell you what, if you eat these tomatoes - all of them - you don't have to pay us back for the N64 you bought today."
"Seriously?" he asks, skeptical.
"Seriously?" Scott asks.
I wave the bowl at Zander.
"I have a feeling you don't really mean that," he says.
"Zander, look around," I say. "There's a room full of witnesses who heard me say it. It's not like I can back out now."
"Take the deal, Zander," Scott tells him. "It's four slices. You can totally do that!"
Zander takes the bowl and looks down at it. "That's like you'll pay me five bucks per slice," he says, disbelieving that I could ever be so foolish. And I can see him considering and I can't figure out why I didn't remember his vast appreciation for money before I made the offer he couldn't refuse.
He picks up a slice and looks at me like he's daring me to renege.
"Do it, Zander!" Scott says and Liam joins in too. "Do it!"
And in it goes. It's like the Survivor food challenge without the squirming and choking because he just chews it up and goes for the next like it's nothing and he's got dollar signs in his eyes and he just grins at me while I take his picture. "You just wanted to have something to blog about, didn't you?" he asks.
Instead of being annoyed, I'm kind of stupidly proud of him so I high-five him in the kitchen and promise that I'll think through my challenges just a little more in the future.
"Enjoy your new games," I tell him.
And he just glows.
[NaBloPoMo Day 17]
Eating veggies in exchange for free video games? I'm lucky my parents never though of that.
ReplyDeleteJust when you think you've got your kids all figured out and what makes them tick, they go and change it up. One of the joys of watching our children grow up.
ReplyDeleteThe nerve of them, right? Crazy kids!
Deletehahahahahahaha this is priceless. I love his wit. "You just want something to blog about, don't you?"
ReplyDeleteHe's been bragging to his friends about his foolish mom and how he got a free new (to him) gaming system. He won the battle - not the war ;)
DeleteLaughing!! This is hilarious. And here I thought I'd end up commenting on how there's a part of me that dreads the day I bet my son to get something done. Instead, I'm laughing and hoping to remember this scene in the future when I bet him to do something! :)
ReplyDeleteHa! At least this was relatively harmless and didn't leave me poor. When I was a little girl my dad bet me $100 that I couldn't keep my room clean for a month - he quickly learned how motivating money can be to a child! I should have remembered.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed it :) Happy betting!
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is money motivated. I used to ask her to do things and if she didn't I would ask one more time. The third time and I would do utilities and leave a bill for $5 on her pillow. The bill was for maid service. She had a job and earned her own money.
It didn't happen often.
Love that! I've threatened sending the kids a bill but never actually followed through...I wonder how they would react?
Delete