As I’m beginning to live my best life, I’m finding myself exposed to lots of new and exciting things. I feel like I’ve lived a relatively sheltered life because I’m experiencing so many new things for the first time, and I’m in my early forties.
One of the things I’m deliberately experiencing is food from different cultures. I’m being introduced to foods from all over the world and it’s been an amazing experience. I’m lucky to have a great guide through all this stuff and I can’t believe I’ve lived so much of my life, having not tried some of these things. For the longest time, I was waking up feeling like it was one day closer to my death. That’s a shitty way to live. Now I wake up each morning, excited to discover whatever the day has in store for me. This is largely possible because the people in my life are building me up, accepting me for who I am, and challenging me to step outside of my comfort zone. I truly am a lucky man and I know it. ☺
That’s just a bit of background that will provide a bit of context into what I wanted to share today.
Gavin was off with my parents today and I had a meeting this morning that ended up going on for almost 3 hours. When I got done, I was inspired to take my remaining kids out to eat. We haven’t done that a whole lot since COVID but there’s a new Thai place that I tried recently. It’s amazing and I wanted to expose the kids to it as well. I was feeling spontaneous, so the boys and I went out for lunch.
What a cool experience for them. They loved it and I loved that they tried new food, that they were unfamiliar with. That’s a hugely positive thing in my book. They were exposed to something different and they totally embraced it with open arms. I’m really proud of them.
One of the neat things is that I’m able to share with my kids what I’m learning and helping to ensure they get to experience things that I didn’t until much later in life. I know this sounds like it’s not a big deal but life has been rough until recently and these kinds or opportunities weren’t always possible. The other thing is that kids on the spectrum don’t always like trying new things. This is especially complicated when sensory issues are added to the mix.
It’s been a great afternoon and now we’re getting caught up around the house. Gavin should be home soon and as far as I know, he’s still side effect free after his COVID booster. Good stuff. ☺
My kids have had to try lots of new things since COVID as we now all eat together instead of the kids eating at 5 and the grown ups at 7.30pm – no way was I cooking 2 meals after a day of work and home learning. Some have gone well and some have been disasters. You’re right though, its wonderful when they explore something different and even better when they like what they find.