A Surprising Thing About Food

E and I both love food. We spend a good portion of our money and a great deal of our time on good food. We are always looking for new recipes and new flavours to try. When Ena turned 6 months old and began eating solid foods I thought it would be easy to feed her in this way. I knew it would be messy. I knew there would be foods she wouldn't like. But because I had expected those things I prepared for them. What I hadn't anticipated was how much I would want to give her food that I enjoyed. That I would want to offer her salty foods, spicy foods, sweet foods. Every time I eat something I enjoy I want to offer her some, too. I find it surprisingly difficult to remember that these foods are not good for her. That really, a few bland vegetables and fruit are the best for now. I also find it hard to only introduce one food at a time. Sometimes we make food that would be good for her to eat, full of vegetables and lentils, but nearly all of our food has more than one ingredient. I find myself looking for bland foods that we will enjoy but can also share with Ena. There are not many.

I fear that I am going to be just the kind of parent I thought critically of before I had a child. The parent who indulges the child. Over-protects them. Shelters them too much. Hinders their independence by always doing for the child. Ugh. All things in life are so complicated. Will anything ever feel easy again?