Many years ago, my then three-year-old daughter Katie told me, “I just met the nice fat lady who lives next door.”
“That’s great, honey,” I said. “But from now on, let’s call her Mrs. Ellis.”
Katie frowned, “What if I forget?”
“No problem,” I said, “I’ll remind you.”
Katie thought a moment longer, then asked, “What if I refuse?”
That was one of those special parenting moments, the moments we realize we have no ultimate control over our own tiny toddlers, let alone anyone larger.
“Oh well,” I remember thinking, “at least I can control myself.”
As if.
January is the month when many of us, overfed [...]
