He was a well behaved little boy, about six or seven years old, following his Daddy quietly throughout the liquor store. Suddenly there was a crash of glass, and the wide eyed youngster looked horrified.
"I'm sorry," he murmered.
"It's okay," Dad soothed gently as he maneuvered the little guy around broken glass and spilled wine, "Accidents happen. Are you okay?" He brushed his son off and carefully led him away from the mess.
The woman in front of me surveyed the scene, then snorted as she turned to the cashier.
"That is what happens when you bring children into a liquor store," her voice dripping with disdain, she gathered up her purchases and stalked out of the store.
The incident reminded me of years ago when I had taken Kevin, then 12 or 13, into the liquor store with me and later tweeted about it. The reactions of my stream were decidedly mixed; some people thought it wasn't a big deal whatsoever, others thought it was a bad example, and even one or two commented that I was bringing up a future alcoholic. The irony in the situation is that I'm not a drinker myself. In fact, in my house growing up alcohol was strictly taboo. With my Dad appointed as an elder in the church, my Mom had to ask her friends to pick up that brandy or rum for Christmas pudding because she couldn't even be seen in the liquor store.
As a teenager and well into adulthood, I avoided alcohol for fear of the extreme disapproval of my parents and it was only when I became very interested in cooking that I began seeing alcohol as an ingredient in food. "Only use wine that you would drink, " everyone would say. They are right, too. A good wine elevates a dish far more than I ever thought it could-and now I've branched out and tried liquers, beers, and more. Which brings me back to when I took Kevin into the liquor store. You see, I had a plan.
Teenagers often view alcohol as something they have to have in order to have 'fun,' or something a little 'dangerous'. To thwart this, I made alcohol about as boring as you can imagine—in our house, it's nothing more than an ingredient. Sure, it does affect you, and we've had many conversations around that aspect. However, it's no more exciting than the bottle of balsamic vinegar in my cupboard. The hilarious thing is that now at 16, if Kevin sees a bottle of wine on the counter the first thing he asks is, "What are you making?" because he knows that it's going to be used to create something delicious. Mom may enjoy one glass at most, but that's about it. While I'm realistic to think that he'll probably try drinking, I hope that our attitudes have rubbed off enough that he'll see it's not the secret ingredient for fun nor some taboo thing that makes life dangerous, exciting, or in my case, guilt inducing. Instead it's the secret ingredient in a big pot of baked beans, candy, chocolate cookies, braised beef, or stew.
Sometimes I think his friends think we're a little strange, but that's okay. I just whip up a batch of Guinness cupcakes and suddenly, I'm the coolest Mom ever.
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