Dinner Dilemma
The plan is to have a nice, enjoyable time making dinner together–Sarah, Jade, and me. And then have a nice, enjoyable time enjoying the enjoyment of and enjoyable family meal together.
The problem is everybody wants to eat Right Now.
Maybe the problem is more what my attitude about that is. If I’m busy cutting up bread and fruit and making sandwiches, I’m not making dinner. And if people are busy stuffing their faces with sandwiches and fruit, they’re not going to be hungry for the dinner anyway. It all seems right pointless, don’t it?
(I don’t really talk like that.)
Ahem. So I can’t say no to the 2-year-old when she’s asking for food without feeling terribly guilty when she complains because, hey, she’s 2, and she can’t really do it herself, at least not without supervision and then I might as well do it myself if time is the concern.
But I can’t say yes and do it without being grumpy because . . . um . . . because I’m just grumpy like that.
You see my dilemma.
I even have the 5-year-old sweetly offering to spread the stuff on the sandwiches if I will just cut the bread, and that only adds to my annoyance because why is my 5-year-old more generous and kind than I am?
This could all be corrected or avoided of course with proper planning, but who does that? I could have provided a snack an hour ago. I could pre-cut the bread so they can make sandwiches themselves. I could just offer the whole apple, but then half of it gets wasted.
Maybe next time. Today I chose to grumpily provide the snack and then run and hideaway so I can think my way out of grump-mode. And since I think by writing (or talking, but husband’s ears can only take so much), you lovelies reap the benefits. If my grumbly monologue could be called such.
Filed in: parenting | May 26, 2009
stephanie
So much of what we do as mothers can feel pointless, doesn’t it? Like laundry. Clean clothes stay clean at my house for all of 2 minutes. What’s the point? Some days I just give up and let them go stark naked– and then spray them down with the hose.
I feel your pain– nice to know that motherhood isn’t all kisses and roses for someone else, too.
Simply Mother
Oh, thank you for commenting! I know I’m not an oddity, having times where I get frustrated with motherhood, but when I put it out there and no one joins in to say, “I hear ya!” I begin to worry a little!
Jenn aka Future Mama
Haha, is is bad that I already have this dilemma and I don’t even have kids? Oh how bad it’s going to be!! haha.
Thanks so much for sharing this post, it’s so downright TRUE!!