a cute kid

here's the dilemma; i have this kid- and he's really cute- super cute as a matter of fact- and funny (okay sarcastic and fresh, but that's the beauty of being "older parents" we think he is charming and pretty much know how this all ends). okay, wait, i re-read that and it's wrong.  the dilemma isn't that he is cute- the dilemma is that he is really special- a mix of the west indies and queens; the color of cocoa with huge eyes and lips you want to kiss and hair that everyone touches. i'm not kidding- at the playground random kids run by and run their hands over his head. 'tis true.
this summer we spent months with my dad & stepmom at their beach house and now not only is the hair amazing in texture, but it is golden brown at the roots and a reddish blond at the tips (i SWEAR i did not have it done- look at my hair- it is obvious i am not that type). sly calls him "sugah- head".
so, we have this kid.
and he photographs like an angel (deceptive).
everyone says "he should be a model" and "you are crazy not to take him to an agent" and "if he were my kid he would be in magazines".
we are torn.
because, people are funny. wait. let me re-phrase. people are stupid.
sly & i have been in the restaurant industry for about 100 years combined (only like 30 years combined- but it feels like 100). we are both really good at what we do. whenever we cook for anyone the response is usually (chew chew mouth full of food) "ohmygawd" (chewchew) "youtwoshouldopenarestaurant".
we did.
well, not exactly.
we started out here in cyberspace- ridiculous and hard- but that's not the point.
the point is, the same people who told us how great we were have suddenly morphed into professional food/business critics. instead of hearing how amazing we are, we hear what we should be doing.
i've decided the worst sentence starts "you know what you should do?"- when i hear that i either want to (a) run for the hills or (b) respond "no, please in all of your infinite wisdom- please, pray tell- tell me what i should do." or (c) if i am premenstrual (which seems perpetual these days) i want to respond "no, actually i don't know what i should do, but you know what you should do? how about if you shut the fuck up".
back to the point- which so quickly gets so very far away from me.
everyone thinks we should model the kid- pimp him out, so to speak. which in some ways i think would be great for him. he is beautiful. he is social. he would have money for his future (i won't specify college here, as it will be his money to do with what he so chooses and don't even get me started about this country and how dumb we are when it comes to college.....)
sly & i are the type of parents that won't push the kid- don't get me wrong- we are excellent attentive parents, but we have older kids- grown and living life- we know the drill- we know what is important and that which doesn't matter.
it is obvious that we would probably get fired.
often.
if the kid awoke and didn't want to go to a job, we wouldn't force him- he's only 3- give me a break.
likewise, if we were at a shoot and the kid wasn't feeling it, we would leave- again, he's only 3.
and i have a feeling that all of the people who told us how cute and amazing the boy is would now, on the flip side point out to us the damage we were inflicting upon his psyche exposing him to "work" at such an age.
life is funny isn't it?-
we never really know what we should be doing, until we do it and realize it isn't the right thing.

speaking of cocoa (remember? the kid is the color of cocoa?) last night we made a batch of amazing cocoa ginger bread- slightly sweet and moist- with fire-y bits of our own crystallized ginger. an amazing comfort food- i may not know what to do about the kid, but i do know that when i am finished here, i will toast said bread, smear it with ghee and share it with said kid.