I Must Have Done Something Right

My son was born in 1980.  I was a child of the 60s and 70s.  There was a lot of rhetoric at that time about the roles of men and women.  The theory was that little boys learned to like "boy" toys because that is what they received and little girls liked dolls and kitchens and such because they were socialized that way. 

I can't say that I totally bought that theory. But, when the opportunity arose to get my 3 year old son a nice little kitchen with pots and pans and fake food and a baby doll, I bought it for a small amount of money at a yard sale.  I found that he loved the kitchen.  Still, I noticed things.  The baby doll was usually naked head first in the sink.  All the pots and pans and fake food were strewn around the room and on the tiny counter top. Nothing was ever neatly placed or clean. 

One day I came in and my boy was playing in his kitchen and I asked what he was cooking as he stirred and threw things around.  He answered, "Steak and eggs."  I asked him why, because I knew for a fact that he had never in his life had steak and eggs.  He answered, "It just sounds good."  I thought, "Boys."  He soon lost interest in the kitchen and I grew tired of picking up all the pieces, so we sold it at a yard sale when we moved right before he turned 4.  I concluded that boys will be boys and never tried to foist off my silly theories again.

My son has his own house these days, and he does his own cooking.  A while back he was having people over and I asked what he was serving.  Steak, baked potatoes and asparagus was his menu.  Some things never change.  But, some things do.  I asked about the asparagus because that would be one food I never served him.  I hate asparagus.  He answered, "It sounded good, so I tried it and I liked it." Maybe the little kitchen wasn't a waste of money after all.