Feeding Children

I made my first entry on this blogsite in September 2018 – after 4.5 years I think it may be time to explore other mediums.  A lot has happened since that time, and I’ve always tried to evaluate impact, and influence in layers.  This evening I was watching a food show and it referenced the title of this entry; my wife and I both enjoy cooking but it’s still at the level of the “chicken being involved, while the pig is committed.”  We’re chickens, but we both spend our days feeding children in different capacities.

NPR ran an article today entitled “Toblerone is no longer Swiss enough to feature the Matterhorn on its packaging.”  According to the article, being Swiss requires a certain threshold of Swissness with the government justification being that “the value added by the Swiss branding can represent as much as 20% of the sale price for certain products — and up to 50% for luxury goods — compared to those from other places.”  Here is the link to the article.

Toblerone is an inside joke with my family.  My parents, well into their earned retirement days, traveled overseas some time ago.  We as a family are light on fancy gifts and prefer the living stories and firsthand accounts instead regarding travels; however, I did score a Toblerone as a souvenir from my parents’ travels.  In full smart mouthed rebuttal, I’m sure I said something like “hang on while I run to CVS to pick up a few more exact same chocolate bars.”  I quietly embarrassed myself today when my college son said he wished he had a job to get a little more cash flow because he was running light; I agreed as much.  I had just dropped a small personal loan on a car repair that was not expected and it made me consider all options. 

The obvious difference is I have the privilege as an adult of feeding children as it should be – my kids and your kids don’t shoulder that responsibility.  I’m a car guy, maybe not a full connoisseur, but definitely an aficionado.  Both my boys learned to drive on a car Born from Jets; a relic at best but one I take great pride in (1 of 17 like vehicles available on last search).  My current ride is “Vorsprung Durch Technik” which loosely translates to “advancement through technology.”  I was ready to part ways with my Audi and then I started thinking about what it has meant to me.

I bought it in January 2018; parked my SAAB to get it ready for my oldest when it came time for him to drive.  Both cars to most folks are just cars but to me they represent my personality at different points and their quirks are such that I wished to share.  Both my boys learned to drive from the singular legacy of the Swede’s Born from Jets, albeit a 4 banger with a temperamental starter.  My Audi wasn’t new but was grand and it took my oldest and me across many, many miles in style while we chased competitive tennis.  It also started every morning at 5:42 while I took my youngest to swim practice his freshman year in high school.

Feeding children is a much more complicated obligation – this is not gift certificate work.  Feeding children in short is fulfilling the next generation’s needs.