Dinner Approval Theorem

Ever noticed the reverse relationship between the amount of time and effort you put into making something to eat and the degree to which your kids like it?

With my beloved away for dinner tonight, it did not occur to me to decide what to make for dinner until I was chatting on the phone with a friend at about 4:45 PM. 'Oh, yes,' I thought. 'It's about that time.'

My rotation of kid-friendly, low-energy meals is limited and primarily consists of things I personally don't much care to eat. I began to fixate on the "breakfast-for-dinner" concept--a favorite of my mom's when my dad wasn't around to eat--and thought of French toast. Yes! We hadn't had it since my birthday weekend last year. It's fresh, it's easy, it's got syrup--it's perfect.

When I described to our eldest what French toast was, he said, skeptically, "I'd like mine without the egg." I went on to explain with such enthusiasm that he would LOVE this meal that he decided to go with it.

And love it he did. The kid couldn't stop raving about it. Here's just a sampling of the comments he made over dinner:

"This is the best dinner EVER!"

"I love love love this dinner."

"This is the kind of dinner that we should have someone over for."

"This dinner is so good it made me forget I miss Daddy."

(Note to Daddy: He did not forget for long how much he missed you. The last thing he said before I turned out his light was how he wished you would call to tell him goodnight.)

I think we'll run with French Toast Tuesday from now on.