Ethan came to announce his sister's obvious offense at once: "Emma's-playing-with-the-food-book!"
"She is? What food book?" I asked as I headed in the direction he was leading me. "Oh, that food book." Ethan's head snapped toward me, like...what's to be done about this??
Seeing no real discouragement, Ethan asked, "What's it called? Is it Rachel Ray?"
I laughed and said, "No, not Rachel Ray. Let's see.... It's called Better Homes New Cook Book."
"Oh, is it new?" asked Ethan. Of course he would ask that.
"Well, no...it's actually really old, so I'll let you guys play with it, but you have to be REALLY careful with the pages because they're VERY delicate."
They seemed to hear me very clearly and then turned to start right in. Their little hands tried so hard but clumsily bent the page in the first turn. It's a 3-ring binder, so it is already a little more complicated than typical page-turning. But Emma just placed her hand on the page and slid it hard to the left, straining it to the maximum of its life. Ethan tried to intervene and picked up the book from the table, and small recipe inserts fell to the floor.
"Uh-oh, okay it's falling apart. We've played with it long enough." I picked up the inserts and placed them inside the binder. All the while, Ethan is begging me, starting in on the plan to convince me to give him the food book. Real tears were streaming down his face as I placed it back in its place.
His last outcry for justice came flying out of his mouth: "BUT NO ONE EVER READS IT!" I was taken aback. Huh. That's true. I never read that book and I never cook from it. Now, I feel guilty. I don't cook enough. And I'm a mean mommy.
"Okay, I will let you play with it one more time if you promise to be careful with the pages."
"Okay, okay, okay, okay!"
They were much more careful this time, and Emma kept looking up and saying, "Careful with the pa-ges."
Then, Ethan gave me a far-off look and said, "Can I read the Rachel Ray one?"
I smiled and said, "Yes, you may because I never read that one either."
