Friday, June 3, 2011

Andy's Fears:
Cooking


Andy was terrified of electrical appliances. I love kitchen gadgets and love to cook. Some of my gadgets are electrical. Others are not. I love my stand mixer. Using that took about an hour off of my annual Christmas cookie baking. I loved my hand mixer. When I made sauces, that appliance was invaluable.




Andy hated it when I cooked. He would hide out in the living room when I cooked. Other times, he would go upstairs in his sanctuary, my bed. However, he would learn to tolerate my cooking and look on at me in great interest when I prepared a meal.



I think two things led to Andy’s diminished fears in the kitchen: gluttony and greed. While Andy was shivering in fear as I prepared a meal, Abby would sit in the kitchen waiting for me to drop food or to give her food. Abby learned that dropped food was fair-game for her to hustle over and gobble up. Abby also knew that if she gave me a doleful look long enough, I’d cave in and give her a tooty. (tooty = treat).



Abby did not eat gracefully. She chomped down on her food and smacked loudly and with seeming deliberation. Andy could not stand it when he was left out. He was absolutely jealous of her and had to get in on the action. He was a jealous and greedy baby.



Andy also genuinely liked tooties. Andy was more discriminate in his tastes than Abby, but Andy liked quite a bit of human food. The problem Andy faced was his fear of cooking. He hated the noises generated while I prepped and cooked. Andy also did not like the focus and intensity on my face. It made him scared.



Eventually, Andy put those fears aside and would ease his way into the kitchen when I was cooking. He knew he would get a tooty if he came into the kitchen. He also knew that if he did not go, he would not get anything and Abby would get it all.

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