Flip a Coin
Whatever it takes for you to decide.
Every morning the routine goes as such:
coffee. need coffee.
child comes downstairs and flops on couch
Coffee is in hand, and dog is fed.
I ask her what she wants for breakfast.
This is where it all goes sideways - with the breakfast choices. I don’t remember having breakfast choices when I was growing up. I probably did because I know what Captain Crunch is, so perhaps it’s just selective amnesia on my part.
I tell her she can’t have french toast because she can’t start every day with syrup and still have teeth. I offer her one of two choices today:
“Cereal or Oatmeal?”, I ask.
She harumphs and pushes past me and investigates both the pantry and the fridge to make sure I’m not holding out on her and there’s a freshly made cheese danish that I’m hiding.
I ask again: “Oatmeal or Cereal?”. Maybe if I reverse the order of the choices I will have better luck…
NO luck.
She tells me she is going to make her own breakfast.
“GREAT!”, I reply and continue to enjoy my still-hot cup of coffee.
She goes to the fridge and finds a handful of grapes that I had in a plastic bag for her snack at school and then pours them into a bowl. She then asks me to cut some apple slices and put them in the bowl. Then, I am to pour some orange juice over them…
Folks, this was breakfast:
I am undecided on whether this was a win for this morning or not. On one hand - fruit - so yay!, right? On the other hand - fruit - but sugar?. I’m conflicted.
While she was eating breakfast she found a Canadian quarter in her pencicl case which was on the table and then this led to a discussion about the Canadian mint and where and how quarters are used..etc.
Then I showed her the ultimate trick: As a decision maker by flipping a coin. I showed her how to flip the quarter in the air to make a decision and she loved, loved, loved learning how to do it.
We had to stop flipping and tossing because we were going to be late for the bus but she could have played with that lousy quarter all morning if i had let her.
This coin flipping lesson actually worked out well because tomorrow when I offer the breakfast options she can use a coin toss to decided and then she can’t change her mind - especially if she’s using a Canadian quarter.
I’m pretty sure there’s an international law against changing your breakfast choice post-flip once the coin lands.
And if not, I’m telling her there is one - regardless
Oatmeal: It’s the right thing to do.
TH and Co.