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Cat Litter and Other Culinary Delights
By Deborah Boehle
Although I didn't know it when my children were toddlers -- and probably would not have believed it -- those little powerhouses of curiosity and adventure are more resilient than those of us who have grown up to become mere mortals. I recall being very meticulous about every aspect of cleanliness when my eldest was born. Everything that touched her had to be boiled, bleached and scoured. After all, it was my sworn duty as a mother to keep her absolutely safe from creepy, crawly germs.
Imagine my horror when discovering a dead bug in her poop one day as I changed her diaper! There was also the day when I found green construction paper in the midst of that mustard pool that is normally void of anything. At least I had somewhat expected that one. Being the perfect mom, I had created a huge mural with construction paper covering the wall above her crib. There was grass, a tree that reached up to the ceiling, flowers, birds, clouds and a sun up in the corner. One afternoon I put my precious princess down for a nap and after a couple of hours I continued to do whatever it was I was doing while being grateful that she was taking an unusually long nap that day. Finally, I decided to go take a peek. I was met by a vision of my child sitting in her crib stuffing her mouth with the blades of grass as quickly as she was ripping them from the wall. I wondered what her digestive system would do with all that green paper, and the next day I found out. It did absolutely nothing with it, other than send it on a journey through her intestines.
