Can I Have a Snack?

R.a.n.t. of week 07/11/04

It’s a question my children ask me. But why am I ranting about this? Because it's something they ask quite frequently, and at the worst times. We will just walk in the front door and the first question is, "Can I have a snack?" Right before bedtime, “Can we have a snack?” Even when they see me making dinner, "Can I/we have a snack?" I have grown to hate the word, especially on the weekends. Every hour, "Can I have a snack, can we have a Snack. SNACK, SNACK, SNACK. Just say the word a few times out loud, you'll learn to hate the word too. Though maybe I'm being too harsh. Could it perhaps be they are not familiar with what the word really means? If so, I'll provide a definition:

snack [snak] noun
1. a small portion of food or drink, especially one eaten between regular meals.

See that? What really is a snack but something you eat between meals? Not just before. When you do that, it's something else.

ap·pe·tiz·er [ap-i-tahy-zer] noun
1. a small portion of food served before or at the beginning of a meal to stimulate the desire to eat.

So why are my kids confused in this regard? Maybe it’s because they hate what I prepare for them, or they don’t want to eat a big dinner, or they just want junk food as often as they can. Whatever the reason, I’m getting sick and tired of the ‘S’ word. Okay, done ranting. Wow, I've really worked up an appetite, off to have an appetizer, I mean snack.
Reprinted 10/18/12





 *PLEASE NOTE - I recently found R.a.n.t. articles posted to an older website I once owned. I've decided to reprint them in my current run, but have decided to edit the articles. For comparisons sake, I've decided to run the unedited versions as well. In a way, it's kind of fun to see how my writing has changed in eight years.


Original R.a.n.t.
 I’m not exactly sure why I feel the need to rant about this, but it’s a question my children ask me quite frequently. We’ll just get home and right away they’ll want a snack, “Can we have a snack?” I’ll be making dinner and they’ll want a snack, “Can I have a snack?” Even when they see me making the dinner they’ll ask again. What really is a snack but something you eat between meals? Not just before. When you eat something just before you eat, it’s called an appetizer, “Can you give us an appetizer?” Seriously though, I have grown to hate the word snack. The weekends are murder on me. Every hour they’ll want a snack. “Can I have a snack, Snack, SnAcK, SNACK!!!” Yes, I’m sure many will neither understand this rant of mine, nor agree with me, but it’s my rage and I’m going with it; it’s what makes me, me. I wish I knew why it gets on my nerves like it does, but I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s because they refuse to eat what I prepare for them, or they don’t want to eat a big dinner, or they just want junk food as often as they can get it. Whatever the reason, I’m getting sick and tired of that ‘S’ word. I guess that’s all for now, I’m off to have an appetizer.