Grab Your Cereal and Sit Down

OK, weak mommy moment. Because we all have them. Perhaps I have them more than you, but hey, at least I admit it even if you can't.

Perhaps you will recall the Pork Chop Debacle? If not, grab a free laugh about it here. I promise that you will not get to the end of that without laughing or maybe commiserating. 

Anyhow, even though I found Pork Chop Debacle kind of funny, what I did not find funny was the fact that I had spent the better part of an hour on a dinner that pretty much no one ate, let alone enjoyed. I mean, really, why do I even bother? Let's face it, my time is precious. There isn't too much of if just laying around. My time is spoken for. And loudly spoken for. So really, if no one is going to enjoy the dinner I spend my time on, then I ask, why make it?

Unfortunately for my lovely children, the night following Pork Chop Debacle was a late night for Hubby. It was also, sadly, a PMSing night for me. Which means, maybe, just maybe I was just a teensy bit cranky. So, dinner time rolls around, the girls are arguing, and as I am getting the pots and pans out, my mind screams to myself, F@#$ IT!  Screw dinner! That's right, screw it. No one appreciates your hard work anyhow! 

The weirdest thing happened next. My crazy PMSing mind actually takes control of my mouth, calls the girls to the kitchen and says the following:

Well, I spent an hour on those stinking pork chops last night. It was a disaster. So, I quit. (Girls' jaws drop to floor.) That's right! Tonight I am not making dinner. You know where the bowls are, you know where the cereal is, there's the fridge with the milk. Go for it. 

And then my mind actually moved my body to the family room couch, grabbed the tv remote and started looking for the latest DVRed Lipstick Jungle. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the girls staring at each other with their jaws still hanging. Who is this woman, and what has she done with our mother, I could almost see them thinking. I braced myself for the protesting that was sure to come, but...nothing. 

Not. One. Word. 

They set the table (even remembering to get placemats), picked out their cereals, poured their milk, and started eating. 

It was quiet for a while, and then I hear Poonch say to Chuckles, 

Remember when Grandma fed us Lucky Charms for dinner that one night?

And Chuckles replied, 

Yeah, I remember that. 

P: Well, that was OK, so I guess this is OK, too. 

C: Sure, this is fine. 

Then as if sensing my guilt, Poonch yells to me:

Mom, it's OK. Grandma did this once. 

Perfect, Just perfect. Because as we all know, grandmas can do no wrong. And damn, if they didn't eat all of their dinner. Silently. And it wasn't even Lucky Charms! It was Kashi! 

I am tempted to serve cereal for dinner every night now.