The next Martha?

Emi seems fascinated by all things domestic. Here she helps her dad Etienne cut the cake at their home on Tuesday. 

I love the concentration on her little face during this operation. 

My nephew Etienne and his wife Aya have made every effort to ensure their daughter isn't channelled into traditional female roles, but there's no doubt that two-year-old Emi just loves domesticity. Her play kitchen, along with its wooden pretend cakes, vegetables and tiny pots and pans, is a favourite hangout, and she is already perfecting her hostess skills.

Etienne reports that Emi is already well on the way to being able to prepare her own scrambled eggs. She gets the eggs out of the fridge, breaks them, mixes them up, and stirs them on the stove. His main duties are straining out eggshell bits and keeping the egg mixture in the pan during the cooking process.

When I arrived for a visit Tuesday, Emi dragged two wooden chairs from her playroom for her mom and me to sit on while she delivered "coffee" and "cake" to us from her sandbox. Coffee in a cup-like container, cake on a plate, along with a utensil -- just as it should be. Later, when it came time to cut a real cake for dessert, Emi was at the counter like a shot to help her papa with the duties.

Nobody knows what other interests Emi may develop as she grows up, but if she continues in her early direction, I have just two words for her parents: Martha Stewart.