Therapy jam

One of the efforts we work on in Devon’s weekly OT visits is food familiarity. This might seem a bit odd to those of us who are far too intimate with food to begin, but for a little guy like mine who would rather go hungry than deal with the nasty business of actually touching and chewing food, this is a big deal. This week our assignment has been blueberries. They were on a huge sale at the store so I picked up two flats of them to ensure some good fun for the weekend.
So far good fun is exactly what we have had. Today when we got home from school Devon and I embarked on a jam making session that lasted well in to the dinner hour. First we had to empty the berries in to a colander and give them a bath, then mush them, then cook them with sugar and pectin, pour the mixture in to jars, etc. It all sounds pretty straight froward, but when dealing with a four year old who is literally afraid to get his hands dirty, things get more than sticky. Cajoling Devon in to listening to the sounds of the berries as we crushed them with a potato masher and then showing him we could actually use our fingers to make contact with them and do the same thing. feeling the mush on our fingertips and being so bold as to taste the mush. Then pouring the mixture in to a pot and slowly cooking it while it turned from light blue to a deep purple. All these steps, so easy to most kids, made mine more than a bit wiggy. Luckily I found a can of whip cream in the fridge and for every swipe of grainy blueberry mix he tasted on his tongue he got a small squirt of comfort cream. When all is said and done he ingested far more cream than fruit but I like to think of this as a small step in the right direction.
Tomorrow Devon wants to make pizza. I am not sure if this is all because he digs watching food change from one form to another or if he suddenly feels the inkling for Italian or if he just enjoys watching me get a wild hair up my ass at the thought of him eating solid foods, but whatever the reason I am falling for it. And then falling on my ass in exhaustion.