New Rule: No Pancakes on Weekdays

I am NOT a morning person but sometimes I try to pretend I am.  Today I truly wanted to make my kids favorite breakfast of pancakes alongside the fresh strawberries I had cut up the night before.  Unfortunately, I woke up with a mission on my heart that my brain and body weren’t equipped to complete.

Trial and Error

When I came down and announced to my kiddos that we were having pancakes for breakfast on a Thursday morning, my nine year old daughter nearly fell over.  She knows, Mommy only makes pancakes on Saturdays.  My seven year old son shared the same excitement and hugged me tight when he heard the news.  I felt so proud of myself.  At the same time I felt a little uneasy since it wasn’t even 7am yet.  Still, I was determined to deliver on my promise.

My husband, Erik, was reasonably suspicious from the beginning (he knows me well) but he chose to give me a chance.  First, the microwave door fought me as I attempted to melt the butter.  Then, as I was trying to get an egg shell out of the mix, I tipped the bowl so that the contents spilled all over the counter and floor.  It wasn’t long before I was showing my frustration clear as day.  Any excitement over the planned meal was overridden with the uncomfortable tone of Mommy’s voice.  It was time to admit it: I was not going to be able to make pancakes for my family this morning.

Erik was kind enough to clean up and the kids assured me that cereal was just fine for today.  I felt extremely defeated.  Instead of a completely loving gesture to my family, I had ruined their breakfast.  There was no way of getting around the rumor that mommy was not a morning person.

Later in the day, Erik took me aside and lovingly suggested that pancakes should be reserved for weekends.  He knows something that detailed on a school morning was just not a stress I should bring to myself or frankly to anyone else who would be coming to our breakfast table.

Think About It

We all have dreams of what we can do and give to others we love and that is exactly how it should be.  Still, if those dreams put expectations on ourselves that aren’t realistic, the disappointment will hurt both us and the ones we were actually trying to serve.

Next time you have an “exciting” goal for how to change your world for the better, don’t forget to be honest with yourself about the tools you have available and if you may need to ask for help or possibly just more time to wake up.