The Princess Spoon

We have a spoon dubbed the "princess spoon". It is one of a kind...I have absolutely no idea where it came from. It is revered here like no other piece of cutlery...and fought over like no other piece of cutlery. There was, a few years ago, the great battle of the Hello Kitty plate but it pales in comparison in duration and intensity of the princess spoon.

I have to be really careful that I don't grab it when setting the table and unknowingly place it in front of someone. Immediately it's favouritism. A great debate will ensue about who had it last, who has had it most. Usually bowls of food are defiantly pushed away by the defeated person. The unworthy "plain" cutlery falls to the floor with a sad clang (I wonder if this is the root of Lucienne's cutlery throwing). Dinner is delayed while trying to get casualties back to the table with the promise of a brighter future when the princess spoon will be their victory.

Many times a noble gesture is made and the princess spoon is ceremoniously handed over as a peace offering followed by a dignified walk to the cutlery drawer to retrieve a less desirable but just as functional spoon.

I've thought about buying a princess set but Rene didn't feel he could eat with such an elegant pattern (although I think the word he might have used was ugly). Plus, where's the teaching opportunity there? I also thought about getting rid of the spoon altogether but I might have a mutiny on my hands where sides join forces for the common cause. Besides, every dinner table needs a little drama. So, the saga of the princess spoon lives on and I'll just have to try not to laugh every time it is unearthed from the cutlery drawer and knives are drawn.