I've mentioned before how I am becoming THAT mom in the store with the screaming kid or the unruly kid who is running amok grabbing apples off the shelf to snack on (what? most wild kids don't grab apples as their snack choice?). Whether you are a parent now or not, admit it - you have seen a parent in the store and thought to yourself that you would never let that happen. I've said that before...and now I am eating my words.
But that is not the THAT mom I am talking about today. Today I am talking about THAT doting mom that brings special snacks for her child to special events and grills other parents about the ingredients in snacks at playgroup. Now for some parents this is a necessity because their child has food allergies or intolerances and must stay away from certain ingredients. But not my child. The kid has nothing that must be avoided, but I am still THAT mom. Why? Because there are many
I make compromises on a weekly if not daily basis, whether it be in regards to food or green living. I can not and will not be perfect and have to make the choices that work for us at the moment without straying too far from our beliefs. But I have decided over the past week that I am compromising my beliefs too much and am working hard to improve that. There are certain ingredients that I do not approve of and will try my best to not partake of those. Am I perfect? No. Will I succeed 100%? No. But just because I will fail sometimes doesn't mean I shouldn't try. It may mean a little more work on my part, but I am OK with that.
With this in mind, I brought my own cake to a family birthday party this weekend. I knew that there would be a cake already there (there were also cupcakes), but I also did not feel comfortable with feeding that cake to my growing children (remember I am carrying baby #2 so I am 100% responsible for his/her nourishment). I do not want to pump their little bodies with artificial food colorings, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and unpronounceable preservatives. The kid and I could have just not had cake and been fine, but I LIKE cake and knew that the temptation to have the other cake would not be there if I brought my own. So I made a whole wheat lemon pound cake.
This weekend I also had to tell the kid "no" when he saw another child eating pizza (a favorite of his) because I was not comfortable with him eating it. Did he like it? No. Does he understand yet the importance of the food we eat? No. But I do and I was fine with him refusing to eat anything but half a banana for lunch because he only wanted that pizza. Many other parents may not have been and I am OK with that because we all make choices and have our own priorities. And because I am THAT mom.
What about you? When have you ever been THAT person?
While this post may not seem like it completely fits on Green & Thrifty, this blog is about my journey on all aspects of healthy living on a budget and my changing values is part of my journey.
I am that mom too. For example, the girls' class does group snack, but after seeing what other parents think is a good snack, we always send our own. The biggest issue is that when you talk about feeding your kids healthy food some folks just don't get it and think you mean low-cal or low-fat. We try to eat real food, without food coloring, HFCS, artificial stuff, etc. and some folks (even family members) can't seem to grasp what that means. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteStacey @ Feeding My Tribe