Egg Boy

My son's superhero alter ego, were he to have one, would surely be Egg Boy. In the week that he has been back with us, Pie has begun to lose the anti-social, macho veneer he had attained in the presence of his father & brother all summer. Yesterday, he wanted me to help him make an omelet, just show him the ropes. He has cracked the eggs & chosen the fillings for numerous omelets we have made, but never made one the whole way through. I let him complete all the steps on his own, standing back & offering guidance instead of jumping in to show him how & what to do. The result was absolutely gorgeous! I was so proud of him. It was not only perfect in appearance, but tasted great, too. Wow! He changed his Wednesday dinner choice to omelets, with him being the chef for all of us. His brother wants scrambled eggs, though, so he asked if I would teach him to make those today. I promised I would.

When I took him to the store, shopping for school supplies, he somehow happened upon the kitchen aisle while I was hunting down Sharpies & rulers. He came back to me with his hands behind his back, saying, "Daria, I have $5 with me & Mom has my allowance, too. May I have a dollar loan so I can get this? Please? I love it!" I expected to see a video game emerge from behind his back, so was astonished to see a 12" non-stick skillet! What on earth??? I was thrilled, of course, and agreed that he might have a loan, if he was sure he didn't just want to use our skillets. He wanted his very own. However, the skillet was quite shallow, so I suggested he get a deeper one & I'd pitch in to make up the price difference. After holding several & testing their feel, he agreed. He then begged me to loan him money for a spatula. A spatula! Okay, kid, you got it. The one he chose was a red KitchenAid one, with a nicely-angled handle. He was so very excited...Disney trip excited...about his new possessions. He plans to hang it on a special nail in his room.

He promptly named the spatula "Sprite" (he doesn't want his brother to know they are named, but if he finds out, Pie plans to tell him that it's named after the soda, not the fairy type, its true origin) & the skillet "Russell" and he just loves them. He carried the spatula into the grocery store, kept kissing it and told me he doesn't need video games anymore & that inanimate objects can be just as much fun as animate ones. He is so cute. He told me all about his plans to open a bed & breakfast when he grows up. He wants to make "omelets & special pancakes with boysenberry sauce for breakfast & stuffed mackerel with cranberry sauce for dinner. And I will offer a whole turkey dinner for 4 people for $59." He told me all about how he'll decorate his B&B. "Guess what color the sheets will be, Daria! Pearl!"

We ran into J while we were grocery shopping & he excitedly shared his plans with her, too. When she made the burritos for dinner last night, he insisted that she use Sprite & Russell. This morning, he made his own fried eggs for breakfast, with my supervision. He washed his pan & spatula, then used them again to make us cheesy scrambled eggs for lunch. He is over the moon about cooking for us tomorrow night. He just loves to cook. He's even good about cleaning up after himself. He wants an apron, but doesn't want his brother to know. J bought him one today at lunch...he doesn't know it yet. While I am teaching Pie to cook eggs, I am also teaching Boot to iron. He asked me today if I could show him. With my guidance, he did a very nice job on his pink & blue striped polo shirt. These boys are going to have very happy wives when they grow up. I am going to watch a Godzilla movie with Pie now.