Can our Cravings Predict the Future?

It’s that time again! Every Friday, I join an inspiring group of writers to write for FIVE MINUTES on a one-word prompt. (Missed you guys last week.) No editing. No revising. Just WRITE. This week, the prompt word is CRAVING.

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I am particularly grateful to Emma Hughes over at The Very Cranky Mummy for sending me down an unexpected path with this week’s prompt word, “craving.” It’s been a difficult week around here with the tragic death of one of our dear friends, and Emma reminded me of a comment I made a while ago on her blog about the wild cravings I had during my pregnancies.

Thanks, Emma, for the delightful distraction in the middle of such a sad week. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane so much!

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// A couple of years after our fourth child was born, I was having a silly conversation with some of my other mommy friends, and we got onto the topic of cravings―specifically the crazy cravings we had during our pregnancies.

And as I began examining this issue further, I started to see a pattern: each of the cravings I had experienced had an ironic similarity to the personalities of my children. Whaaaaaat? No, I’m not saying this is a scientific discovery or anything… I’m just saying that there was a freaky similarity.

And it got me wondering… 

Do we experience certain cravings BECAUSE of the personalities of our kids?

WAIT! Before you click “exit” and un-friend me on Facebook (because I’m obviously crazy), let me explain.

Baby #1 – Oranges

When I was pregnant with my first child, Raelynne, I craved ORANGES and LOTS of them. I mean, I ate so many oranges that I started getting sores in my mouth. And if you know anything about Raelynne, you’d know that she is kinda tough on the outside, super sweet on the inside, and has an absolute zest for life… just like an orange.

Oranges also have vitamin C, and they help to keep you alive. Raelynne was the oldest grandchild in our extended family and the self-appointed guardian of the whole crew. She and her Mother Goose tendencies kept them alive many times (or at least, she tattled on them early enough that we could stop them from doing something stupid).

Then there’s baby #2 – Crackers & Cheese

With Joshua, I craved CRACKERS & CHEESE. I’m not sure if it was the calcium that I wanted or the carbs, but I couldn’t get enough. So much so that I struggled with constipation (shhh, don’t say that out loud). I think Joshua may want to shoot me for writing this, so let me clarify. // I’m not saying that he’s a constipated person, but he does tend to be a bit emotionally constipated at times. And although he’s gotten much better at processing his emotions, when he was little he was extremely quiet and didn’t like to talk at all; he would bottle up his emotions until he finally popped.

At the same time, he is also a person of substance (kinda like cheese), and you’ll feel a deep sense of satisfaction after spending time with him.

Then there’s baby #3 – Hot Fudge Sundaes with Peanuts

When I was pregnant with David, I gained sooo much weight because ALL I wanted to eat was HOT FUDGE SUNDAES WITH PEANUTS. I mean ALL the time. And if you’ve met David, you’d know that he has always been ‘the family clown.’ Singing, playing, performing, making jokes, being goofy… and making people smile (kinda like ice cream).

And when you get him together with Josh, you’ll get to enjoy the dry, sarcastic sense of humour of Joshua mixed with the goofy, weird sense of humour of David. It’s quite the entertaining experience.

And then came baby #4 – Steak

Rachel was our miracle baby and the high-risk pregnancy that put me in the hospital for 2.5 months (another story for another time). With her, ALL I wanted was STEAK! “I don’t want no ground beef. Give me something I can CHEW―something I can sink my teeth into.”

You know those stories of husbands having to go out in the middle of the night to get their wives take-out? Yeah, that was me. One night after church, I told Erwin,

“I need meat NOW! Don’t bother coming home without Ginger Beef.”

He must’ve loved me a lot because he drove 45 minutes to the other side of Edmonton to buy me Ginger Beef from the only Chinese Food restaurant open at 11 pm on Sunday night. (It still makes me laugh.)

And Rachel is exactly like that; she doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. She tries everything, joins everything, volunteers for everything, and expects to win at everything (even when she sucks at it). She eats life like it was steak!

Haha! So whether this is scientifically feasible or not, and regardless of whether you think I’m crazy or not, I have personally found the connection to be true. 🙂

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN:  Did you ever experience cravings that matched the personalities of your kids? Add your comments below.

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For more information on Five Minute Friday, check out Kate Motaung’s site!