Apparently, you CAN eat spaghetti with a pencil.

I love spaghetti - especially with meatballs and loads of Parmesan cheese. Who doesn't? I was even served spaghetti a few times in Korea. The dish was always served Korean style with a side of kimchi and a pair of chopsticks - metal chopsticks at that. Believe me, nothing tests your dexterity like eating spaghetti with metal chopsticks. I'll answer your question: yes, spaghetti and kimchi are actually surprisingly delicious together. If you haven't had the opportunity to eat kimchi I will meet you for lunch at your local Korean restaurant and introduce you to the wonderful world of korean food. Lucky for me Todd loves it too. Otherwise, I would end up like my former co-worker who worked tirelessly to keep her smoking habit from her husband. She would hide cigarettes, smoke them when he wasn't around, then wash her hands raw, brush her teeth, gargle with mouthwash and live off breathmints. If you want to eat kimchi in secret you would have to add shower in euakalyptus 3 times afterwards to the list as the garlic permeates your skin. Now if you STILL aren't convinced to eat kimchi, more for me.

So as we were eating spaghetti the other night, I turned to notice my little son's extremely long reach had won him a mechanical pencil which he was using in an attempt to stab his food. I almost reached out to snatch the pencil away saying, "son, you can't eat your spaghetti with a mechanical pencil! Use your spoon, for pete's sake..." but for the first of probably hundreds of times, he proved me wrong. He stabbed a tiny piece of pasta and ate it with triumph. And yes, I meant with triumph - he ate it with a side of triumph.


Then I had one of those proud/bewildered parent moments. How am I going to keep him safe but all the while allow him to try doing things in a new possibly not-so-safe-in-mom's-eyes way? Or will I just stifle his curiosity in the name of safety? Also, how is he going to learn to downhill snow ski or canoe when I refuse to do either??? (Kayak, yes, canoe, NO. Blame it on the White River and lack of matches. Maybe I'll share the story someday when I feel less traumatized.) Our son has already proven himself much more fearless than mommy is comfortable with. He walked right up to one of my in-law's sheep (a buck, mind you) and attempted to stick his finger up the buck's nose. Luckily, my brother-in-law understands that a buck with his ear's back is not a happy buck and whisked my son away. He's also started his own version of "mutton-busting" and run's after the lambs trying to catch them. Again, whisked away from the unhappy mother by his favorite uncle.


I guess that's why there are two parents. When Evan is doing something I would stop him from immediately, Todd is laughing and grabbing the camera. So why I wouldn't suggest it for you or your children, it is possible to eat spaghetti with a pencil - and why not?