Fixing the Millennium Falcon
The struggle.
Now that the kids are older, and we are busier, I'm finding it a fine line between being doing the right thing and using our busyness as an excuse to be lazy.
A good example is the last few days. Tuesday Peter worked, and then he left straight from shift Wednesday to fish all day, so he's basically gone for two days. For me, it's tax season and billing time so I've been getting up at 7, fixing breakfasts, fixing lunches, getting everyone dressed, taking a shower, doing a load of laundry and starting the dishwasher then off to drop the kids at school and to work. At work I've been rushing to get as much done as I can before I need to leave, get back to school, pick up Mr. T at 3 and head home. Then snacks, more laundry, more dishes, more picking up. Last night for dinner we had a "pick your own night" and the kids actually picked pretty healthy stuf f- Mr. T had eggs, toast and oranges, Miss E had bagel with avocado and pear nad I had leaftovers from teh night before. Then baths, more dishes, more picking up, an hour of reading and more laundry. Get up and repeat.
I'm exhausted. Now it's Wednesday night and I feel like I should be putting a healthy dinner on the table. Only, I'm tired, I don't know what to cook, and all I want to do is throw a box of mac and cheese in boiling water and serve that. So here's the issue - part of me says, yes, I'm alone with the kids, give yourself a break and do something easy. It won't kill them. The other part of me says, don't use the fact that you're alone to be lazy and give them sub-par nutrition, nut up and make something better for dinner. Plus Peter's coming home and he might like a real dinner after drinking all day and eating very little (also known as "fishing"). I don't know. I think I should cook a real dinner for my family but if I'm tired and it makes me cranky to do so is it better to feed them mac and cheese and have me be not so stressed out? I literally feel like this is the first chance I've had to sit and have some quiet in 2 days and I really don't want to get up and cook dinner. But that's not really an excuse to feed the kids (and myself) crappy food again is it? When is it OK to give yourself a break and when does it cross the line to laziness? I don't know, but I'm leaning toward the box of mac and cheese tonight.
Mac & Cheese is fine. No guilt trips necessary. Maybe because I remember doing my share of this when you kids were little. Not being stressed and cranky beats good nutrition (that may not be eaten) and crankiness anyday in my book.
ReplyDeleteI think I agree. The "may not be eaten" part is really true and there are worse things than organic mac and cheese and pears.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong at all! We all need a little break sometimes. And it's better than pizza toast (gosh, I'm telling on myself). Not that E would eat it, but we always add peas to our M&C - at least then there's some green! Hey, pears are green, right??
ReplyDeleteCut yourself some slack--don't overthink -- it's okay... I myself would order a veggie pizza delivered and add orange slices or lettuce salad and call it good and say ahhhhhh, and rest 'n enjoy the meal with the kids...
ReplyDeleteErin - yes! Pears are green. And patti, that sounds great but no money right now in the budget for take out and the kids won't eat veggie pizza or orange slices. I would though!
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