If you can’t distract ’em, join ’em

OF

all things, it was a diced pepper salad that got me thinking.

It was a Tuesday night in early November. I was finishing my supper in relative tranquility when my pajama-clad six-year-old, Sara, crept into the kitchen and sidled up beside me.

“Ma,” she said, tugging at my elbow, “I’m huuungry.”

Hungry?! Sara had already consumed two slices of pizza, a snack bag, and an apple earlier in the evening. Suspicious, I said, “All right, love. Take a snack from the pantry.”

Sara rummaged around, turning up her freckled nose at chili-lime chips, chocolate sandwich cookies, and vanilla wafers.

“Ma, what are you eating?” She gestured at the diced peppers on my plate. “I want some of that pepper salad.”

Huh?