"Tyler, I Love You"

When it comes to having a meal around the dinner table with Tyler, it is exhausting.  He not only is a picky eater, but he will procrastinate from eating with incessant talking.  Actually, if he's not talking, he is just sitting there day dreaming with food in his mouth.  

Ray and I see dinner time as opportunity to catch up with everyone, including Tyler, but it has come to a point where all he does is talk or daze.  So after getting fed up with telling him to eat for the nth time, we implemented a timer during our meals.  If he's not done in 15 - 30 minutes (depending on the meal), he has to leave the table and there is no dessert nor snacks for him.  Well, that is the background in a nutshell. 

So last night, there was about 10 minutes left on the clock and Tyler barely made a dent on his plate.   He asked me a question so I told him that I would not talk to him until he finished his dinner.  He responds so nonchalantly, "OK, then I'll just talk to myself.  It's ok, Tyler, I looove you."  And then the rest was jibberish.   At that moment I had to pull everything within myself not to burst out laughing.  It might of infuriated some people but it was so cute.  Needless to say, he didn't beat the timer.  In hind sight, it makes me kind of sad to think he chose to say, "Tyler, I love you", as if no one else loves him.  Poor Tyler thinks my love for him is so fickle.  If he only knew how much I really love him.