Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot" Day 3

Today was both really exciting, and a complete disappointment in the carrot-eating department. Let me explain...

It all started with a ride in the car. While John and I were riding home in the car this afternoon, he asked me repeatedly if he could watch "Kipper the Dog" on Netflix when we get home. I'm a little conflicted on this subject. While I desperately appreciate how Kipper holds John's undivided attention for a solid 45-60 minutes, I am also trying to limit John's daily screen time to an hour or less. He learns a lot of new words from watching shows and movies on Netflix, but I would rather have him running around the yard like the little mini-marathoner he's turning out to be.

So anyway, I jokingly replied that I would let him watch Kipper if he ate some carrots when we got home. I chuckled a little to myself (after all, I am so very funny) and went on my merry way. When we got home, and battled through the assault of excitedly licky dogs at the door, John marched straight into the kitchen and announced that he wanted some carrots.

"I'm sorry, you what?"

Pointing at the refrigerator. "I want some carrots, Mommy. Then I'mma go watch KIPPER!"

"Uhhh.. okay."

To my surprise (and elation), he totally did! He ate one WHOLE baby carrot straight out of the container. I asked him if he wanted another, keeping my fingers and my toes crossed as hard as they would go, but he turned me down. He then skipped (he literally skipped) into the living room, crawled on to the couch with his bear, and asked if he could watch Kipper. He even said, "Please?"

How could I turn that down? I can't start breaking my promises, so I let him watch 30 minutes of Kipper while I finished making dinner. I had high hopes that he would eat more carrots at dinner since he so happily ate the first one, but I was soon to be disappointed. He ate one tiny piece of one and then turned his nose up at the rest. I was too worn out to push him tonight, so I just let him eat the rest of the food on his plate. Oh well.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot" Day 2

So tonight was our second attempt at carrots. Since I had an entire container of leftover carrots in my refrigerator, it was pretty easy to make dinner. Once again, John seemed pretty excited when I opened the container. I had already let him count out his chicken nuggets (don't judge me, I'm doing the best I can here) as we put them on his plate, so we did the same with the carrots. He counted them out and we clapped our hands when we were done. Then he licked some of the honey-cinnamon-ginger flavor off his fingers and smiled.

"Mmmm, yummy."

"Yeah, yummy carrots. Should we go eat them now?"

"Yeah, let's do that!"

After that, it was pretty much a "Groundhog Day" repetition of last night. The only difference was that at least he would touch the carrots. He mushed a couple pieces and would occasionally lick the honey-cinnamon-ginger flavor off his fingers. He kept asking for the honey again and I kept reminding him that the honey is on the carrots. Just when I was about to give up, I had an idea.

Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot" Day 1

So the first vegetable we're going to tackle with Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot" is, of course, carrots! I picked carrots because they have a sweeter flavor that most vegetables, hopefully making them more appealing. I needed to keep it simple, so I bought a bag of fresh baby carrots from the produce section that were packaged in a microwaveable bag. The benefits of fresh produce plus the convenience of microwaving! Perfect.

I let John put the bag in the microwave, close the door, and push the buttons to start the microwave. This was immediately gratifying to him as the microwave lit up, started making noise, and we watched the carrots turn around and around inside. When the microwave beeped at the end of three minutes, John happily announced, "All done!" I took the bag out of the microwave, cut it open with the scissors, and poured the steamed carrots into a bowl so John wouldn't burn his hands.

"Oooo... carrots! Yay!"

"Do you like carrots, John?"

"Yeah, I like carrots."

Then came the fun part, and the part that might be my undoing.

Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot"

First, I'd like to provide a little context for you. John is two. I know a lot of people talk about the "terrible twos," but John really doesn't fit into this category. He's a pretty good kid. Actually, he's a pretty freaking amazing kid. He naps for 90 minutes to two hours every day and still sleeps a solid 11-12 hours every night. He always says "please" and "thank you." He rarely throws tantrums, as in, almost never. He does what he's told, he likes to help, he follows the rules, and he's about 50% potty trained. He doesn't bite. He doesn't hit. He listens well, takes turns, shares, and apologizes (with prompting) when he's done something wrong. Despite my ineptitude as a first-time mom, I've so far managed not to screw him up... which is a miracle all by itself.

One of the hallmark developmental stages for any toddler is what Erikson call's the "autonomy versus shame and doubt" phase. In this critical time of his development, John is learning to do things on his own. He's gaining an understanding of his individual autonomy and confidence in his abilities to go out and explore the world. He's learning to dress himself and undress himself. He's learning to put on his shoes. He's learning to brush his teeth (with a lot of mommy's help and supervision), put away his toys, and make choices. We let him pick out his clothes by giving him two options. "Do you want the robot pajamas or the dinosaurs?" He's learning to use the potty, which is a huge deal for toddlers. If you've never seen a group of toddlers interact before, it's quite amusing. One of them needs to go to the bathroom and all the rest of them have to go "help."

So he's learning all these important skills, which he'll need as he becomes progressively more independent, but he still lives in a world with a lot of limits. Mommy determines when he gets up and when he goes to bed. Mommy decides when we go outside and when we come back in. Mommy decides where we go and what we do and who we see. Even though we give John a few choices and a few opportunities to make decisions for himself, he still lives in a world ruled strictly by Mom and Dad.

Many, if not most, toddlers will react to these limitations by asserting their authority in one way or another. For some, it's the common behavior of responding to all communication with, "No!" For others, it's controlling and manipulating parental behavior by throwing temper tantrums to get what the toddler wants. A friend of a friend's three-year-old willfully poops in his pants when he's frustrated or angry with his parents (yikes!!). Toddlers have very little control over their lives, so they will sometimes try to take control in any way that they can. For John, it's food. This is where Operation "Eat A Freaking Carrot" comes into the story.

A Christ-Centered, Yogic Lifestyle

Rather than give myself a lengthy list of resolutions to attempt to follow, I've decided to recommit myself to more fully living out my rule of life. I've been faithful to certain elements, and have struggled with others. So this year I'm going to continue my efforts at living a Christ-centered, yogic lifestyle. Happy Near Year and namaste!

Love God

Pray daily.

Pray the rosary regularly.

Participate in corporate worship.

Observe the sacraments. In particular, participate in the Eucharist.

Honor the liturgical cycle of the church calendar.

Study the Scriptures.

Love Others

Act always out of love.

Always consider others' feelings before acting or speaking.

Speak gently and do not spread gossip.

Never refuse a request for help.

Love Yourself

Keep a positive attitude.

Maintain healthy relationships with others.

Maintain a healthy environment.

Set priorities and personal limits.

Get adequate rest.

Make healthy food choices.

Exercise regularly.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Sacrifice

"If we have never experience what it is to give sacrificially, we may approach it like our first dive from the high diving board, a major moment at the time but really ordinary after that, a new and richer way to approach life."

-Br. Eldridge Pendleton, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Joy

"Joy is a mystery. It's as mysterious as our suffering. And, I think, it's as boundless as our suffering. Somehow, in God's economy, the one is creating the space for the other."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Judgment

"For to be judged by Jesus is to stand before Jesus naked, just as I am, and to allow him to look at us with love, and love us into repentance for our sins, and to receive his loving words of forgiveness--and then to be set free, and even know taste the first fruits of eternal life."

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Good News

"The people of God have always known days of laughter--and days of tears. And we will, too. That may not sound like good news, but let me assure you, it is. It is good news because God is up to something. It is good news because God means us nothing but our good."

Br. Kevin Hackett, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Watch

"Some of us Christians are too eager to find in current events evidence that will tell us when and how the world will end and the Son of Man will return. Others of us have lost our hope in God's promise and come to believe only in ourselves and in our human institutions. The Gospel challenges us all. "Watch, be alert, keep awake," it warns us. Christ will surely come."

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Fear

"Do not be afraid. The Gospel challenges us to take a new path and to begin today."

-Br. Eldridge Pendleton, The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Hope

"Hope is unruly. Hope floats, when it shouldn't. Hope, simply defined, is the capacity to imagine a future. Like memory--which I would define as the ability to rightly recall the past--hope is an essential element of what it means to be fully human and fully alive. Without hope, we die."

-Br. Kevin Hackett, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Triumph

"We feel so ineffective in a system where money buys power. What can we do in the midst of this great travesty? Perhaps we just need more faith in the triumph of small things, the little that we can do."

-Br. Mark Brown, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Journey

"The spiritual journey is a journey towards God in which we discover that we are beloved children of God and in which we learn to live our lives grounded in that reality. The Scriptures are given to instruct and guide us along this path."

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Yes

"When we say 'yes' to God, our 'yes' echoes that of Mary's and 'the Word [becomes] flesh and [lives] among us' here and now and we, like Mary, become God bearers and our eternal destiny is fulfilled for all time."

-Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Conversion

"It is the source of our greatness and our dignity as children of God, that God won't let us be comfortable with the familiar, the materialistic.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Prayer

"The real quest for our prayer is to learn to pray our lives. It's to practice the presence of God in every moment, every place that we move, every person whom we touch, every word that we speak or hear."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Growth

"We often refer to God's presence in our hearts: in a sense, the Divine Presence is the heart of our heart, the core of our core. For the Christian, the Divine Presence is something that grows within us, like the Christ child in the Virgin's womb, we might say. Or, as Paul puts it, it is not our own life that we live, but Christ's life in us."

-Br. Mark Brown, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Faith

"Faith gives us the power to see life very clearly, to admit that sometimes it seems all wrong and still to know that, somehow, it is all right?

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Patience

"Take time each day to gaze. Sit on your porch. Take time to savor what is now in your life, today. Pray and practice today the living and enjoying of your life in every way you can, especially given what you cannot change."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.