That's what you are eating for Thanksgiving dinner?

When I was a kid, I grew up eating that traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing and every root vegetable boiled or mashed to the point of having no nutritional value.  If I didn't like the taste after I tried it, I either used a dollop of butter or a stream of gravy to disguise the taste.  But I ate it as did every kid back then...you ate what was put in front of you or you didn't eat.

Today my Thanksgiving is different.  My mother is the constant host and (as one of my many thanks) has graduated from boiling and mashing every root vegetable to death.  Along with the turkey and fancy stuffing, there are brussels (much to Ching's chagrin) and salad, lightly dressed.  Potatoes are still there along with the boiled onions and squash.  So as I say yay at the spread, I look over at  the mini Wangs at the kids table and this is what I see:

Laurel has a minuscule amount of turkey with a big mound of ketchup, a mountain of cranberry sauce (I am waiting for her to slip and call it Jello) and a buttered roll (which will be the first of three.)

Rachel has a minuscule amount of turkey, her cranberry "jello" and a buttered roll.

That's what you are eating for Thanksgiving dinner?

Selfishly, I am not worried about their nutritional intake.  I am actually self conscious of my elders watching my parental ability.  These are the same elders that kept me at the dinner table eating a mound of baked beans until I was done. (Probably only four bites but as a young kid, it was a mound.)  The same ones that served me a frozen apple juice pop as the only sweet that was allowed.  Elders eating organic before it was trendy.  And now here I am letting my girls fill up on cheese and crackers prior to dinner and now at dinner, they are eating ketchup, cranberry jello and rolls.  (Another thanks--Laurel is still really tall and Rachel has powerful thighs--these girls look like they eat just fine on most days.)

I hope they realize my limitations.  I look over at Ching Wang as he is rolling his brussels around his plate like they are going to disappear.