 |
| Gingerbread photo credit and recipe |
Run, run as fast as you can, you
can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man. You may be familiar with this refrain from the popular
children’s story titled The Gingerbread
Man. I was reminded of this story the other day after I baked a pan of
gingerbread.
Fresh out of
the oven, I placed the pan of hot gingerbread in a safe place to cool. My
oldest son, ‘D’ loves gingerbread, my other son, ‘J’, is not really a cake/brownie
type of eater. So, in my mind the delectable treat was meant for ‘D’ and me.
Perched on
my bed with pillows propped behind me and glasses at the edge of my nose, I sat
reading a book. After a few minutes, I heard bumping noises, then the sound of
a herd of elephants headed in my direction.
Before I
could seek shelter, my two boys burst through my bedroom door, arguing over the
gingerbread. ‘J’ had the pan of gingerbread in tow as he said, “Ma, who is the
gingerbread for?”
I said, “Everybody
can have some, but I didn’t think you would want any.” That opening statement was
all he needed to antagonize his brother.
“See, I told
you, it’s not all just for you,” he said.
“Yeah, but
you need to let it cool off,” said D.
Little did I
know that Betty Crocker would cause such a ruckus in my house. I told ‘J’, “You’d
better run, run as fast as you can, ‘cause you’re still holding the gingerbread
pan.”
Both boys
ran off with a thud, thud, thump. My gingerbread boys were swift as they ran
back to the kitchen, where their problem started. They came to a
resolution-they would share the delectable treat. What a novel idea (sarcasm
intended). However, the story did not end there.
The next day,
as I entered the kitchen, I spotted the pan of gingerbread. It was on the counter,
uncovered, open to all elements, getting hard. I wonder if Betty Crocker had
kids… and did they let her hard work go to waste?
Do your kids
experience sibling rivalry or other challenging situations?
