El Greco…and the French-Fry

Sunday was a truly an amazing day! I took my mother and my boys who are three and a half years apart (ages 4 years, 10months and 14 months) to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  Our visit to this wonderful establishment was fantastic on so many levels and brought about so many first experiences.

First,  my mom, who immigrated from Haiti almost 40 years ago, stepped foot in the Museum of Fine Arts for the first time.  A self-educated woman of petite stature, her eyes glistened with amazement and gratefulness.  She moved from painting to painting, Iranian ewers to Japanese woodblock prints, reading about each piece.  For that moment, her ailments disappeared.  She walked those exhibit halls with confidence as she flirted with each piece of art. Our Haitian Creole was just an echo in the exhibit halls among several other languages spoken that day…a testament to the universality of art.

Second, it was the first time my 14 month old walked the halls of this great museum, cruising past Renoir masterpieces, an Egyptian asophagus and El Greco.  He stood in the European art gallery, lifted his little head (well, actually, he has a large head….it’s ok, I make big head babies! LOL!) and just stared at the wonderful portraits.  He would tilt  his head as far back as he could and then bring it forward towards the ground – it was amusing to observe his playful innocence.  He seemed particularly interested in St. James  and I wondered if it was the firery red of Saint James’ robe that caught his attention.  I stood in marvel as I watched my oldest sit with a friend on a cushioned ottaman to sketch their version of Anubis and my baby smiling at what – at first sight – appeared to be dark and melancholy figures.  I smiled as I thought that this may be the beginning of a pleasurable experience with fine art or any art.

While my boys share a curiosity about art and interest in many things, they do not share that certain something that has the potential of becoming a critical marker of their difference: food allergies.  As you have read in previous post, my oldest is allergic to a lot of foods.  It turns out, the baby (so far) is not.  It was less of an issue when the baby’s only source of nourishment was milk; however, things changed when the baby started eating solids.  My oldest became more interested in what his brother was eating.  At first his questions were – well – just questions, and more on the curious-side.  He would ask: “Can I eat that?”  “Does his lunch have wheat?” As the months passed and his brother’s palate (and belly) expanded, his questions were protest  “Why can’t I eat that?”  “Why do some people have food allergies and others don’t” “That’s not fair, why does he get to eat that?”

I decided that day that my baby can go without fries.  For the first time, and yes I too had a first at the Museum of Fine Arts – I decided that on this day my boys would eat the same food.  They both chomped on carrots and took spoonfuls of rice.  My oldest was so happy to share his wheat-free, egg-free chicken nuggests with his little brother.

It was easy.  It was stress-free.  It was temporary salvation.

I know that every day I will be faced with this decision and so I vow to take it day-by-day.  No pressure.  Most importantly, I let my oldest know that I too am trying to figure it out.  He watched me diligently inquire about each food.  My truth is – I know that at a certain point in my boys development they may feel like they don’t have anything in common with each other.  I will not let my oldest boy’s allergies to food become a reason for him to envy his little brother.  At this stage in their development, my boys are not foodies!  Similar to their fine art experience, their relationship with food is also at the surface.  I look forward to the day when they will look for the deeper meaning behind those wonderful paintings and art pieces at the museum.  Perhaps by then, my oldest will outgrow his allergies and they will be able to dine at a restaurant and experience another first – their first meal together where both can enjoy unrestricted goodness.  Perhaps! But Sunday was not that day.

What would you do?  You may have a lot of questions about my decision and I would love to hear from you.

Tags: children, cultural, culture, food, food allergies, health-childrens-health, heritage

Category: Featured Articles: Health & Nutrition, Health & Nutrition, Kids & Food, Travel & Culture, US & Canada