The Candy-Covered Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Last night Alex discovered some leftover Easter candy in the pantry. He asked me if he could have it, and since I knew it was the not-so-great stuff, I said, "Sure - you can have it!" knowing full well that he wouldn't finish even one piece of it.

First he opened some Smarties. After about two bites, he looked at me, grinned, and said, "Here, Mama. You can have them." Lucky me, huh?

Then he found some jelly beans, sniffed them, and said, "Yucky, Mama!"

After a couple of more minutes, way down deep in the bag, he discovered a lone bite-size Milky Way. He held it up to my face and said, "What's that, Mama?" And when I said, "It's a candy bar," he said, "OH, IT'S SO EXCITING! I'M SO EXCITED, MAMA!"

I unwrapped it, and for a full five minutes he sat quietly, nibbling on his little nougat treasure. Then he rummaged through the bag again, came up with a Starburst, and brought it to me.

"Alex," I warned him, "you're not going to like this. It's fruity. You don't like fruity candy."

"No, I'll try it, Mama"- so I unwrapped it for him.

His teeth had barely hit the little lemon square when he scrunched up his nose, smiled, and said, "YUCKY!"

I took the Starburst away from him and said, "I told you, buddy - you don't really like fruit candy."

And he looked at me very seriously, tilted that sweet head, and said, "Yeah. Yes ma'am. I like chocolate. In my mouth."

I do, too, little man. I do, too.