Chef Destiny

Destiny will be 11 in June. We have embarked on the new adventure of cooking. She is using the stovetop with ease. She is a bit skittish of the oven, however, she loves cooking on the stovetop. Of course the first thing she learned to cook is BREAKFAST! Destiny makes amazing omelettes, eggs and pancakes. Destiny also makes a mean grilled cheese with mac n cheese being a close second...and she truly is a microwave magician. If it comes in a can, she's all about it! For the last few months Destiny has been asking to help more. She hates cleaning, but she loves to cook! I have been allowing Miss Destiny Rae to make lunch and/or dinner whenever it is feasible. Recently she has been making dinner almost every night. One day she made pancakes for breakfast and she even went as far as to make a little menu with all of the different shapes of pancakes she could make! Hearts, Mickey Mouse, Circles, Chocolate Chip...you name it, she makes it! This has been a very empowering thing for her because it allows her to be a functional part of the family. It gives her a real sense of accomplishment and belonging and it has created a major shift in her overall mood. Whenever Destiny can help cook, she is a very big girl and she is very proud of herself. One thing that she does is she always serves her mommy first. When she originally started cooking things, I didn't think anything of it. I figured she wanted mommy to try it to make sure that she did okay...or she was looking for approval. This has turned into a little ritual with her. She will not allow anyone else to eat until mommy is at the table and has been served. I asked her why she's feeding me first....I always feed in order of youngest-oldest. She said that it is because I work so hard to take care of them, that she wants to do something nice for me in return to show me how much she appreciates me. Its amazing how just something as simple as making your mommy an omelette can be symbolic of so much. She really is a good girl. I can not believe how big she is getting....and how grown up she has become!