I wanted to write a post about my (future) stepson.

So you understand, this kid is SKINNY.  He’s got his father’s genes and he’s just plain tall and thin.  He shot up this year and his old shorts that fit him at age 10 are now /shorter/ on him, but he needs a /belt/ to hold them up!  He’s twelve now and started Intermediate School (Jr. High, Middle School) this year with the 6th grade.

He came home a few weeks ago and asked me, “Is there a way to take teriyaki sauce to school?”  Buh? 

When I asked him why, he explained, “I’m tired of eating all the fried food at school, but they have vegetable bowls.  I’d like them if I could eat them with teriyaki sauce.”

I was floored!  This is the kid that, at the beginning of the year, went /around/ me and his dad who were buying him things to make his lunch at home and asked his grandmother to set him up with the food plan at school.  Nice. 

Then last week, after he came home from being with his grandmother(s) I found a THREE LITRE of Coke in our fridge.  Coke is my #1 red light food.  (Sometimes I get so frustrated at the foods he comes home with from their house!)  I told him and his dad that they needed to either drink that Coke or I was going to dump it and throw it out.

He asked me why and I explained to him, “Sweetie, Coke is one of the major things that made me fat.”  He blinked and asked, “I thought only fat made you fat?”  Dear god, the boy has been reading labels!  I explained to him that different things can /make/ fat, like sugar and white starches, etc.  Then his father joined in the conversation and said, “You really need to stop eating all the fried foods, like grilled cheese and french fries and onion rings.”

Again he asked why and my DF told him, “Because they are fried in melted fat.  That’s what a grease is.  That’s what butter is.  It’s melted fat and it’s coating your insides and hurting you.”  My stepson is borderline OCD and obsessively washes his hands all day.  I pointed out that if he doesn’t like grease on his hands, think of how it’s sitting inside of him.

That got the point across.

I’m just so proud of him that he’s this aware of food.  He’s been spending alot of time outside riding his bike and playing with his friends recently instead of playing video games or watching cartoons.  It’s just a HUGE deal for us that he’s coming around this way.   He’s even told his mother he didn’t want to eat at whatever fast food joint she was taking him to, that he’d just wait until he got home with us!  It’s because he knows we’ll feed him healthy foods!

Just amazing, isn’t it?