A Valiant Effort!

I often find myself thinking, "I need to apologize to my parents for putting them through this." Monday night was one of those nights.  It began as soon as I pulled the chinese take-out out of the bag and Ella watched as I prepared her plate with Sweet and Sour Chicken and some Vegetable Lo Mein, complete with a single broccoli floret.  The moment she saw it come out of the box and make its way to the plate she made it quite clear to me that she had no intention of eating it.  Mind you that a little over a week ago she ate a full serving with not so much as a word about it.  But not this night.  No, this night, as the three of us girls sat down to eat, Ella broadcast to anyone who would listen that she did not want to eat her broccoli.  I did my best to not give her the "you will because I say you will and you're not getting down until you do now suck it up and eat that one stupid piece" line, but after the 6th or 7th announcement of her refusal she got it.  Of course, that tender little heart of hers was broken and the waterworks started.  Then what's that I hear?  The jingle of keys, the turn of the lock . . . IT'S DADDY!  I was more excited than the girls on this particular night as he is the professional in handling such matters.  And after her first informative statement of unwillingness to eat it, daddy echoed my "suck it up."   And then it came, the greatest line of all time, the line I wish I could have coined as my own, one I wish I had thought of as a kid . . . are you ready for it?  So Ella looks at daddy, her misty puppy dog little eyes and in her soft sweet voice declares, "I can't, my mouth is too tired."  I couldn't help it, I had to laugh and was seriously considering letting her win this battle.  Then daddy reminded her of what usually happens in these circumstances - mommy goes to work, Madeline and daddy eat their dinner and go upstairs to play and have fun while Ella sits at the table alone and inevitably ends up eating whatever it is she has decided she doesn't want to.  So with that very reasonable reminder she picks up that one little piece of broccoli puts it in her mouth chews it and looks to me waiting for praise and adoration.  Are you kidding me?  Daddy's home for 2 minutes and he has her eating the single piece of broccoli I have been listening to her declare abstinence from for the last 28 minutes!  A valiant effort was made by all that night but alas daddy was the victor!