Naomi eats "Green Food"

I got a phone call this evening from Nina, Naomi's mom. Naomi wouldn't eat her dinner (she's been very resistant especially to eating healthy foods lately), and Nina, my mom, Jermaine and Jeremiah were hoping that I could influence her to eat.

A little background: last week when I visited Naomi, Nina told me that she refused to eat green foods. Naomi usually has to wear a mask in public to avoid exposure to germs and viruses, and she's aware of why. So I told her that eating green foods would help her body to "fight the germs". I told her in elaborate, animated detail how her body would benefit from green foods and become stronger and stronger, thereby more able to fight the germs. She believed me and started eating some salad. I cheered her on joyously.

Naomi remembered my "green food" narrative when I saw her on the 4th of July, and proudly showed me that she will eat green food.

Tonight, Nina was trying to get Naomi to eat some broccoli and zucchini and she wouldn't eat it at all. She just kept crying. So they called me. I very gently asked Naomi to remind me of what I told her about green foods. She said in a tiny voice: "they fight the germs". I told her "yes they do!" and asked her to at least try to eat one piece of green food. She did. I then played fanfare music on the piano in celebration of her trying. That started things rolling! Naomi proceeded to eat several pieces of broccoli and even tried the zucchini, each time followed by more fanfare! As she started slowing down, I made up short little songs to encourage her to finish her plate. Jeremiah then contributed his own song improvisations, which were just adorable. In sum, Naomi listened to our serenading, and ate her dinner, her "green foods" in particular! Now, that's cause for celebration! : )

Victoria