Carrots for Love

Art by Phil Scroggs.


When I was potty-training my son, I used to give him little candies as a reward. I'd tried non-candy rewards (like Hotwheels cars) first, but found that three or four little Smarties got the desired results without my spending a lot of money. Occasionally he'd ask me for candies for no reason, and although most of the time I didn't give him any, there were a few times when I gave him a candy or two "just for love."

Earlier this evening we were sitting on the couch and I was chomping on raw veggies straight from the bag, getting ready to watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," my favorite weepfest. Omigosh. Could those families be any more deserving/inspiring/adorable? Anyway, as part of my ongoing effort to get my kid to eat vegetables, I casually handed him a baby carrot, which he took readily.

"Is this just for love?" he asked. I told him it was, and handed him another carrot.

I mean, it's all just for love, isn't it?