Tag: expectations

Why? Why? WHY? Will Good Enough Mother ever learn?

I always go into long holiday weekends with my Norman Rockwell glasses firmly pressed against my nose, you know the ones with the rose tinted lenses? You probably have a pair too. It’s those very glasses that trick you into thinking that somehow your family will look like one of those portraits; the easy conversation around the dinner table followed by game night in front of a roaring fire culminating in a big group hug, the sounds of “I love you” punctuating the crisp air. Uh, yeah.

So on Sunday, I made a proclamation, we were going to have family movie night. That’s right. The dad, the mom the 14-year-old daughter and the 12-year-old son, even the yellow lab and black cat were going to all sit in front of the TV and watch a movie and everyone was going to enjoy themselves. DAMMIT!

There are several things wrong with this scenario, which I’m sure you, reading this on your laptop, can see more clearly than I could being smack dab in the middle of it. The evening started with daddy making a lovely Caesar salad with croutons for everyone, except not everyone wanted a lovely Caesar salad with croutons. “I didn’t ask for that,” wailed the boy, confusing our kitchen with the diner down the street. That prompted my first yelling of the evening. “Well, that’s what’s for dinner so you’ll eat it!” The girl, who’s less prone to complaining and seeing the lack of success her brother had, shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her bowl and headed to the living room.