THAT kid

Several weeks ago I sat in Costco with Grandma and my son.  We had just finished a marathon dry goods run (you know--where you purchase such necessities as 12 pounds of brownie mix) and had decided to partake of the Costco food court.  First, may I say, it was rather tasty.  Very tasty, actually, much to my surprise.  Grandma had the hot dog and I ordered (what else) the pepperoni pizza.  As I was devouring my tasty meal (did I mention it was tasty?), I would occasionally give my kid bites of the cheese or occasionally the crust.  I did avoid the pepperoni, as I am still changing diapers and that just didn't sound like fun.  Anyway, the point is that my kid and I were enjoying the pizza.

So as I looked over to the table next to us, it suddenly hit me that I am a horrible parent.  There was a woman there with two little kids.  The older of the two was sitting quietly, eating his preservative-free bologna on whole wheat that she had pulled out of his personalized lunchbox.  The younger was just starting to eat his homemade pureed eggplant.  As she spooned the healthy mush into his mouth, she noticed me staring and smiled.  "How old is your son?" she asked.  I quickly closed my mouth and told her just under a year.  She smiled larger "Oh, Georgie is just turning one this week!"  I stared again at the child who was dutifully eating up the veggies and then looked down at my own kid who was covered in pizza sauce and grinning from ear to ear.  I looked back at the Talbot's-clothed mom and again at my jeans which were covered, I think, in last-week's pudding.  I felt awful.  Before he was even one, he had turned into that kid.  You know--the one who smokes behind the school at 8 because his mother isn't paying attention.  The one who wears clothes just a bit last season and whose hair is a bit too long to be fashionable.  The kid who watches copious amounts of TV and drinks nothing but Mountain Dew.  The single parent's kid.

To put it mildly, now that we are in a new place, I have actually pulled out my Beaba baby food maker and have determined that my child will eat nothing but organic produce.  I haven't actually used it, mind you.  And maybe I'm overreacting.  Maybe it's not predetermined that my kid will be that kid.  But I am determined to stop the tides, just in case.  Now excuse me while I buy my kid and his friends some Keystone Light.