Humility in the form of a Costco Lasagna

It’s one of those weeks.  I know you know the one.  The kind where  your to-do list is not getting to-done and people keep asking questions like, “Did you pick up that package at purolator?”  Or, “Did you get more toilet paper?”  And all you can do is say, “nope.”

Actually that’s not true.  I never just say nope because that would be admitting defeat and only wimps call uncle.  No, I follow my nope up with something like, “But I was up at 5:30 and haven’t stopped since – there was simply no time between making breakfast, getting littles to school, working all day, watching basketball, making dinner, cleaning the entire house all by myself, helping with homework, working on science fair (which I assure you is a bigger deal than just the ordinary realm of ‘homework’), yada, yada, yada.”

All moms out there know the drill.  We are busy with a capital B and yet we can’t just say no to a question being asked of us.  We need to ensure that the somebody’s that are asking know exactly what we accomplished on the day in question for fear that this attacker believes that all we do is sit around on facebook all day.

So my list is long today.  It boasts about 7 things that are all out of the ordinaries.  Some are as simple as phone calls long neglected and others are more errandish but each of them added together equals an entire day with nothing else to do which we all know is never going to happen.

What does one do on days like this?  Heads off to meet with some besties of course!  I assure you this was preplanned and not a procrastination tactic but after overstaying by a good half hour (though my gracious host never made me feel the overstay) I knew I had to bolt and accomplish.

This is when the thought hit me.  I want to spoil my kids today and what would really be spoiling them is to have a lasagna all made for dinner when they get home from basketball.  I have 120 minutes to accomplish my list.  Yeah.  I know.  This is a great idea.  I’ll add making a lasagna to it!

And this is when I realized it, dear friends.  I am a moron.

Why would I add a homemade lasagna to this day?  Am I a glutton for punishment?  My own slave driver?  Simply off my rocker?

Now I know Costco is no homemade lasagna but isn’t mom’s sanity worth more than one meal bought in a tinfoil pan?  I confirm that it is.

But as you may  well remember from this post I have a desire to do it all.  To be it all.   To accomplish all and it’s really not only at my own expense but at the expense of those around me.  My pride is quick to get in the way of my own well-being as well as that of my family.  But it sometimes takes moments like this to remind me that it is not to anyone’s benefit for us to have a homemade dinner and yet me be grouchy and snappy.  Relationship, sometimes, is more important than homemade.  **

So I swallowed my  pride and I picked up a premade and I stood in line feeling like mom’s all around were boring holes in me with their eyes.  Like I could read their thoughts and they said things like, “We’re having steamed kale with no salt for dinner and my kids will smile and love it,” and “Do you know what they put in that?  Surely you don’t love your children as much as I love mine.”

Then it hit me like a double whammo between the eyes.  My pride, that is.  It hit me again as I looked around and realized that nobody around me gave a damn about what I was feeding my children for dinner and who am I to think that the world is watching my every move.

Moral of the story.  Get over yourself.  I am not that important.  People don’t care that much.  I am not the center of everyone around me’s thoughts.

Moral numero deux:  Do what’cha gotta do.  The world doesn’t care.  If they do, they probably have too much time on their hands and are on facebook all day 🙂

**If I ever boast that in the name of mama’s sanity we’re all having twinkies for dinner please stop me and show me the error of my ways.  I thank-you in advance.