How Many?

Do you ever have to answer the following question: "How many more bites before I can be finished?" If you are a mom (or a dad) the answer is probably YES! I answer this question daily, mostly from Abbey. She spends SO much time talking during meals that it is not unusual for the rest of us to be finished and she has taken 2 bites. She has story after story after story, each more interesting than her meal. Inevitably I have to tell her to stop the yakking and eat, and then the question arises "How many more bites?" The other day I realized that there is NO correct answer to this question. It is based on such a huge amount of variables that it would be impossible for anyone but you to answer. For instance, what else have they eaten that day? If lunch consisted of a bowl of carrots dipped in ranch dressing followed by a nice apple, perhaps the correct answer for bites of veggies left would be 2. On the other hand, if lunch was macaroni & cheese with a side of oreo cookies, the answer could be more like 6 bites. My answer also depends on my mood. Am I in a good mood? Then maybe 3 bites of veggies will do. Already mad at you for taking every single pillow off of every single item of furniture in the house after I told you not to? Then the answer might be 4. The day of the week also has an impact. Is it a weekend? A Friday night? Then forget it, the answer is you're done and leave the kitchen already and where is that bottle of wine?

So you see, the question of "How Many More?" is really quite difficult. It is much more than a simple number. It is dependent on mood, weather, the calendar, and so much more. You will remember this the next time your child asks you how many more bites they have to take. Your mind is like a steel trap sifting through variables to come up with the correct answer, and you didn't even know it.