I desperately want to see my seemingly well-dressed family show up at brunch today and celebrate me while enjoying fluffy omelettes, warm waffles, fresh berries, and sinful pastries. I want glance across the table as I sip a peach bellini and admire the children I brought into this world and marvel in my accomplishments. I want to hold my husband’s hand as he relaxes and enjoys his coffee, staring in pride at his family. But that’s not going to happen, not today, not this year …<
If I choose to go to brunch with the people I gave birth to that’s NOT what will happen today. What will happen is I will fight to get everyone dressed and wearing what I want them to wear to look “well-dressed.” Once we get to the restaurant and are seated I’ll be holding down a toddler with one hand while I pry a knife from him with the other hand. What will happen is I will be begging my son to eat one bite of the $20 waffle that sits in front of him covered in a gallon of syrup and whipped cream. What will happen is I’ll never get a bite of my food, my coffee will get cold, and my mimosa will lose its fizz. The morning will end in frustration, naps will be late, and everyone will just be … ugh!
So today, I’m saying YES, yes to my children. I’m saying YES because I want to enjoy them, to enjoy being their mom. I want to enjoy peace and harmony in my family and to enjoy Mother’s Day. I just want to relax.
I’m saying YES!!
YES to park. YES to the splash pad. YES to ice cream. YES to a movie. YES to bike rides. YES board games. YES to coloring. YES to Lego building. YES to the trampoline. YES to snow cones. YES to water balloons. YES to video games. YES to sidewalk chalk. YES to Hot wheels. I’m not going to say to play dough … that’s going too far.
Instead of a fancy brunch, we’ll have frozen waffles on paper plates and orange juice from the bottle. We’ll go to the park and have an ice cream date, wearing clothes that can get stained without me crying. We’ll have dinner out where the boys can be themselves and I can avoid the kitchen. We’ll watch a movie. We’ll have a bubble bath. I’ll probably still do laundry, because I’m pretty sure that never goes away. There will probably still be dishes, because – see laundry. The kids will still fight, because no matter how many times I say yes to them, they’re going to say NO to each other.
In the end, I just decided to choose reality. Reality is easier if you look it straight in the eye. Right now my reality is a low-carb, joy-free breakfast bar and a lukewarm cup of coffee, standing at the end of slide. One day I’ll have a fancy brunch in May and when I do it better have those Bellinis and Mimosas ready and red velvet waffles better still be trendy because I’m going to want one! But right now, I’m going to do what Emily always does and #letthembelittle.
If you choose brunch today, I raise my cup of cold coffee to you and I hope it was fantastic! I hope the children sat still and ate their food. I hope the service was fantastic and the waffle was amazing! You deserved it all.
No matter how you spend your day today, I hope it fills your heart and prepares you for another year of doing amazing things for the children you love!
“When all is said and done, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. … The mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as well as more important position than any man in it. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist.” – Theodore Roosevelt
