There are many thankless things about parenting.
We are underappreciated, taken for granted, hidden from the view of peers lest we prove embarrassing.
We can lecture on a topic countless times only to be ignored, but if a stranger says the same darn thing, well, it’s genius.
And — I don’t know about you, but my experience is that we are often made fools of.
Recently, I wrote about Catherine’s hatred of soup, how she finally confessed to lying about those steaming bowls of love I’ve been serving up for 17 years. She swore the only soup she can abide is pea soup. Everything else might as well be poison.
She made the appropriate noises when I dished up Sweet Potato or Lentil, Turkey Noodle or Italian Wedding only to spare my feelings, you see.
With this in mind, I give you Exhibit A, taken while she and Basil were in Newport, RI, last weekend touring (please GOD let it be the last one) Salve Regina University.
I am told she finished every last spoonful of Squash Soup.
Is it just me, or is that a guilty expression on her face?
Pushing on a Rope 
Great post & great comments also! Traci would come home from school and excitedly tell us what her teachers had said & how brilliant they were. Bill & I just looked at each other knowing we’d uttered the same words the week before. Go figure!
Posted by Reia Duncan (@reiaduncan) | November 21, 2013, 4:37 pmOne of my favorite expressions during my career was, “An expert is someone that is very expensive and from out-of-town.” Because clearly no one here has said what they’re saying. [sigh]
Great post Terri.
Posted by J T Weaver | November 18, 2013, 7:10 amThanks JT!
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | November 18, 2013, 7:11 amHahaha!
But in five years, she will be making all of your exact soups for her friends and stating firmly, “These are FABULOUS. I found the recipes myself.”
Five years after that, she will tell everyone she knows that she learned everything from you.
Its worth the wait!
Posted by momshieb | November 17, 2013, 6:19 pmOoops — caught!
We have the same problem with our daughter. She asks my advice, ignores it, finds a book that tells her the same thing and thinks it’s perfect. I’ve learned to send her books that agree with me.
Posted by Karen Waggoner | November 17, 2013, 4:59 pm