Tuesday, June 5, 2018

17 Things From 17 Years: Post 2

#2: There are some things we will never agree on. Agree to disagree or come up with an agreeable compromise.

Chris and I agree on a lot of things. I would venture to say we agree on more things now than we did 17 years ago. But there are some things we will probably never quite agree on.

This is maybe a small thing, but for example, food.

I grew up in a family where the children were required to eat a little bit of everything prepared; and my mom liked to prepare a wide variety. We tried salad and squash and okra and lima beans and sour kraut and poke greens... I still think it was good for us.

My husband, on the other hand, grew up in a family that ate main dish and vegetables and that was about it. They weren't required to try odd things, but then again, there weren't very many odd things to try because that isn't what their mother prepared.

I like to say my husband isn't a picky eater, he just doesn't like anything unusual. This includes any kind of casserole with many different things mixed together, any salad that is not just lettuce, meat, eggs and cheese, and absolutely nothing that includes mayonnaise or chunks of onion and celery.

Early in our marriage we made a compromise. Our children would be required to eat main dish and vegetables, but other things would be optional.

I confess that I struggled with that compromise sometimes. Mostly I struggled when we were eating with others, like my mom, who believed tasting everything was included in the Bible somewhere. But fighting over the issue just wasn't worth it. What would I have gained? I really don't think the little I may have gained in the diversity of my children's diets would have been worth the strain on our relationship.

And, 17 years in I must admit, people's stomachs are just different. Celery and mayonnaise do actually make my husband's stomach upset and, honestly, I still don't like cantaloupe, no matter how many times I've tried it.

6 comments:

Carol W. said...

I chuckled while I read your post today. My husband is a meat and potatoes man, and I prefer fish and vegetables. I try to get him to eat more vegetables than corn and green beans; he finally said if it's hidden in a casserole, he'll eat it. I make rice and beans with at least 4-5 vegetables added; first, it took awhile to get him to eat it, then I told him how healthy it is, so he eats it now because it's healthy. Lol. (I still can't get him to try beets.) God bless you both!

Doris said...

So while I was reading your post, I was also eating cantaloupe. :)

Anonymous said...

My daughter is good at trying the local foods, wherever we're stationed. However, she would much rather eat vegetables then fruit. My husband and I think trying new food is part of the fun of moving every two to three years:-)

Bethany Eicher said...

You just go right ahead and enjoy it! ☺

Bethany Eicher said...

I love trying new food too!!

Regina said...

I don't like cantaloupe either and just looking at a cut in half cantaloupe with the seeds still in, grosses me out. I know that's weird but it's true!