There are several differences among the people living in the Sumstine household.
Now, even though the blog is called BecauseJimSays—and yes… LITERALLY—I’m not saying my way is the right way.
I’m just saying… there are differences.
Eating, for example, is a complete free-for-all in this house.
We do not eat the same.
Me?
I’m a complete eater.
Lisa, Kate, and Charlotte?
They’re center eaters.
They pass on the perimeter.
You know… the outside.
Take baked potatoes.
I eat the whole thing. Cut it up, salt, butter—done. Skin and all.
Love the skin. Even when it’s a little charred.
Sweet potato? Same deal.
I appreciate the added fiber.
As long as the potato has been adequately washed.
I like the entire potato.
Lisa and Kate?
They scoop out the fluffy inside and leave the skin behind like it betrayed them.
Pizza crusts are one thing, but I have only on rare occasions eaten their potato skins.
Charlotte?
Hard pass on anything starchy unless it’s shaped like a French fry.
She’s a loyal eater – she doesn’t stray away from her comfortable path.
Pizza? Same story.
Charlotte is strictly an inside girl—crust cast aside.
Lisa and Kate… it depends. But more often than not, there’s a graveyard of crusts left behind.
And who shows up?
Me.
Captain Cleanup.
“CLEAN UP ON LIVING ROOM TABLE”
I’ll eat the crust.
Bread?
Loaf of regular bread, French bread, baguette…
I’m going straight for the end piece. The heel.
Some people call it “the butt.”
Notice I didn’t say I prefer the crusty butt.
…but let the record show—
I do.
Now cupcakes… cupcakes are the anomaly.
When the girls were little, it was all about the icing.
The cake? Irrelevant.
They’d lick that cupcake like it owed them money… and hand me what was left.
And by “what was left,” I mean… a damp, defeated sponge of a cupcake.
I don’t think I had a single unlicked cupcake between 2008 and 2015.
That’s part of the dad contract.
We are the eaters of the licked cupcakes.
Lisa, however, is the opposite.
She’ll dabble in the icing and go all-in on the cake.
Which means now… I’m left holding a small plate with a pile of icing.
And listen—I’m sweet enough as it is.
(Note to the reader: Aw… thanks guys.)
So yeah…
I finish things
I eat the potato skin.
I eat the pizza crust.
I eat the licked cupcake.
And yes…
I like the crusty butts.
And I cannot lie.
My Take on Life and Events 