A silly little tale.

When I was a wee tot, I dreamt of having big muscles and immense strength. 

I used to tell my mom and dad, "I want to be a muscle man".
Not a ballerina or princess.
A muscle man.

And my idol was Popeye. 

One day, I came up with a brilliant idea. 

I begged my mom to take me to the grocery store to buy a can of spinach.

She said no.

I begged some more.

She said I would hate it and asked why on earth I wanted canned spinach. 

"So I can get big muscles like Popeye". 

She chuckled. 

And I pleaded some more. 

Mom finally caved. 

But mom was hard core. 

She told me if we went to the store to get spinach, 

I had to eat every.last.bite.

Even if I hated it. 

I told her no problem. 

I just wanted my muscles. 

So what happened, you ask?

Mom bought me the spinach. 

Yes it was canned. 

And yes it had a picture of Popeye on it. *Bonus*. 

I couldn't wait to take my first bite. 

So I did. 

And I gagged. 

I looked at mom and started crying. 

She reminded me of our deal.

So. She made me eat some more.

I ate about 1/4 of the can. 

And gagged with every bite. 

(I told you mom was hard core).

Mom finally felt bad and said I could stop.

I was so relieved.

And so devastated.

I never got my muscles. 

True story.

Now I think of this story and laugh at the irony. 

Because my sweet little daughter has truly taken on the role of Popeye. 

She first coined the nickname in the hospital. 

We all laughed because she would close one eye and grunt. Just like Popeye. 

My mom asked the nurses why she was doing that, and they said it was probably because that eye was squished up against me while she was in the womb. 

And she would make that same face every time she nursed. It was quite cute. 

Then we brought her home. And though she still made her Popeye face, her actions really reinforced the name. 

She was so strong. 

She would lift her head for ridiculously long periods of time. 

She would bust out of her *tight* swaddles.

She would move her way across the crib. 

She would roll over onto her side. 

All of this starting on day 2 of life in this world. 

My mom said I was never that strong that early on. 

So, after the spinach incident, my hopes and dreams were crushed. 

I didn't turn into Popeye.

And I never became a muscle man. 

But now, my four-year-old self can only hope that Lyla will carry out my dream ...