Sunday night at 8:30 we get a call advising us that our schools will be closed indefinitely – Sure no problem, well almost. I have 3 teenagers that run long distances. They need breakfast and lunch – the schools in our area provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. So while Plan A was to get up and go to work, I enacted Plan B – We operate most of the time on Plan B or Plan C. Got up early and hit the local super grocery store. No there wasn’t toilet paper but we are fine on that, so I picked up normal stuff, cereal, pasta, sandwich stuff (though not normal sandwich stuff), tuna, frozen bread loaves… In fact, a gentleman asked me if I was stocking up?. To which I replied “I have 3 teenager athletes in the house and found out last night at 8:30 that they are home from school” The Gentleman laughed and helped me load my cart.

After loading up for a week, I dropped off the groceries just inside the door and went to work. I also texted my oldest (The Future), because she is always up first, that the groceries were there and requested the cold stuff be put in the outside refrigerator. (We have a refrigerator in our garage, somewhere over the years and the moves we ended up with an extra one.)

Shortly thereafter, I received a text that the groceries were put up,

  • The Future: Groceries are put up
  • Parent: Great! Thanks!
  • The Future: Next time you drop off groceries, you get to explain to The Great One (my youngest son) “No, there is not a Food Fairy”, and “No the Food Fairy (which does not exist) did not come to our house” and “No the Food Fairy (which still does not exist) is not going to come again tomorrow even if he leaves a list”, and “No, It won’t help if you put the list under your pillow”
  • Parent AKA Food Fairy: Welcome to adulting!
  • The Future: Seriously Mom?

Parenting has it”s moments

Never thought twice about the groceries in the fridge…Till I went into the outside refrigerator on Wednesday. My kiddos had done exactly – EXACTLY- what I had requested. The frozen bread was the size of a bed pillow. Looked like a marshmallow PeeP being microwaved! (if you haven’t done it – try it) or a tick that was about to pop (if you are a Christmas Story fan) The bread had to be cooked.

PARENT MOMENT! Ugggg…What could I say, I asked for the food to be put in the refrigerator, not the freezer. ‘It is What it Is!” While my parent brain wanted to explode and ground the freaking heck out of somebody, that somebody would have been me. My directions were fallible. Standing there looking at the bread oozing out of once loose-fitting plastic, attire I had to breathe deeply, and again, and again… and yes again. ‘It is what it is!”. On to the next.

I was now the owner of 5 loaves of freshly baked bread. Considering social distancing, we are trying to be conservative and intentional with food usage.

We had WAY too much bread. The solution we created was to use the bread in meals and conserve food like cereal that will last longer.

The next day, my children learned to make french toast from scratch and season to their likings. I did most of the hot part of the cooking and teaching on Day 1. The next day, My daughter made the french toast entirely by herself, while the rest of us were working on setting the table, loading/unloading the dishwasher, (Me telework-working), etc. She was so proud that she did it. Mind you, my children cook a lot, heck they are being reared in the south. Handmade-from-scratch biscuits are a must! I am proud to say they all make them well. But my daughter learned something new and was excited about it.

In a time where we are embarking on unknown pandemic outcomes, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our kids. This example illustrates the chaos we live in, well, most of the time, but still ‘oh, how the little things matter’. The small moments, when we seize them, matter. We have been thrown together and our normal is driven to a new abnormal normal. We are choosing to make the most of the time we have been given in this situation, as chaotic as it may be…

This is one of those cases when life gives you lemons – we make strawberry lemonade, or like my kiddos like to say, we make life take the lemons back!

When life gives you lemons, make life take them back!

Cave Johnson – Portal – vital gaming

Given I have the time, my expectation of posting weekly may actually accelerate. Take advantage of the time. Hope yall try again tomorrow!

Biscuit making at it’s finest by The President