It all started with a call home from school.
Not a “she forgot her lunch” call. Not a “there was a mix-up with pickup” call.
This was a please come in and talk to us kind of call.
The school psychologist wanted to meet with my mom.
Naturally, my mom spent the rest of the morning replaying every possible scenario in her head. Had I said something strange in class? Drawn something unsettling? Corrected a teacher one too many times? By the time she arrived at the school office, she was already bracing herself.
The psychologist greeted her warmly and led her into a small office with two chairs and a low table between them. On the table were several printed pictures laid out neatly: potatoes, carrots, beets.
Simple enough.
The psychologist slid the pictures closer to my mom and asked casually,
“What would you call these things together?”
My mom barely hesitated.
“Vegetables,” she said.
The psychologist nodded.
“Yes,” she replied. “That’s correct.”
Then she paused.
“But your daughter said something different.”
That’s when my mom’s stomach dropped.
Because whenever a professional says your child answered differently, it never means differently in a cute way. It means we’re about to unpack something.
“What did she say?” my mom asked carefully.
The psychologist smiled, the kind of smile adults use when they’re trying not to laugh but also trying to stay professional.
“She said… ‘ingredients.’”
My mom blinked.
“Ingredients?”
“Yes,” the psychologist said. “Specifically, ‘ingredients for soup.’”
Now, on the surface, that doesn’t sound alarming. Honestly, it sounds kind of logical. Practical, even. But the psychologist leaned back and folded her hands like this answer had unlocked a door she wasn’t sure she wanted to walk through.
“She didn’t hesitate,” the psychologist continued. “She didn’t ask for clarification. She looked at the pictures and said it very confidently.”
My mom laughed nervously.
“Well… she does help me cook a lot.”
The psychologist nodded slowly.
“That’s what she said, too.”
Apparently, the test was designed to see how children categorize objects—whether they group things by learned labels, abstract concepts, or personal experience. Most kids said “vegetables.” Some said “food.” One kid even said “things I don’t like.”
But my answer had gone straight to function.
To me, potatoes weren’t vegetables. They were mashed potatoes. Fries. Soup.
Carrots weren’t vegetables. They were snacks. Cake ingredients. Something you chop while standing on a stool.
Beets? Honestly, I didn’t like them—but I knew they stained everything and showed up in soups whether you wanted them or not.
So when asked what they were together, my brain didn’t reach for the textbook answer. It reached for the kitchen.
The psychologist explained all this gently, assuring my mom that nothing was wrong. In fact, she said it suggested strong contextual thinking and real-world association.
Still, my mom raised an eyebrow.
“So… she’s normal?”
“Oh, absolutely,” the psychologist said quickly. “She just thinks… practically.”
That should have been the end of it.
It wasn’t.
Because once the psychologist started talking, it became clear this wasn’t the only moment that had raised curiosity.
Apparently, earlier that week, the class had been asked what a chair was for.
Most kids said, “Sitting.”
I said, “Standing on to reach high places.”
Another day, they were asked what a bed was.
Most said, “Sleeping.”
I said, “Reading, hiding snacks, and pretending to be sick.”
Each answer made sense—just not in the expected way.
The psychologist told my mom that I didn’t approach objects by their official definition. I approached them by how they were used in my life.
My mom sighed with relief, then laughed.
“So she’s not troubled. She’s just… me.”
That earned her a knowing smile.
By the time my mom picked me up from school, the worry had melted into amusement. On the walk home, she asked,
“So… why ingredients?”
I shrugged.
“Because that’s what they are.”
She tried again.
“But you know they’re vegetables.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But vegetables don’t do anything. Ingredients do.”
That was that.
Years later, the story still comes up at family dinners. It’s usually told right after someone asks me to label something the “normal” way and I don’t.
Looking back, it wasn’t about vegetables at all.
It was about perspective.
Some people see categories.
Some people see rules.
Some people see labels.
Others see patterns, purpose, and what things become once you use them.
And honestly?
If that’s a problem, at least it makes for a great story. 🥕🥔🥣
