Confessions of a Compromising Mother

I have been sick this week. The kind where you ache all over, feel like sleeping all day, have a nasty cough and lose your voice. Adam has been wonderful, and so have several friends - Xan watched Eli all afternoon on Wednesday, Lisa watched the kids on Thursday afternoon, and Vicky brought over 2 dozen homemade rolls which saved our family from poppy seed overdose. There are a couple more institutions I want to publicly thank.

Dear Costco,

Thank you for making and selling Huge oversized poppyseed "muffins" (we both know they're actually sweetbread disguised as a ginormous muffin). My husband picked up a pack of 12 on Monday night, and without them, my children wouldn't have had breakfast or snacks all week. Before I got this rotten cold, I was disdainful (at best) toward your product, but now, all I have is respect. For breakfast each morning, I would slice up half of one for each child, and they would gobble it up. I don't know about nutritional value or providing a great variety, but it was easy and filling and that is just what I needed this week. The dozen muffins were gone by Thursday, and I never had even a bit of one. So, thank you. I just hope my kids aren't tested for opium any time soon...

Sincerely,
A Usually More Nutritionally-Minded Mother


Dear PBSKids,

Thank you for the countless hours of extra sleep you allowed me this week. My kids usually just watch about one hour of your station in the mornings, but this week, with my late night rehearsals and an unforgiving virus, they had free reign of the television. You'll be happy to know that they never tired of your programming: Caillou, Sesame Street, Curious George, Clifford, Bob the Builder, Super Why (a favorite), and perhaps others I may not have even noticed. At 11:00 one morning when I was finally coherent enough to realize how long they'd been watching t.v., I found them still in p.j.s with eyes glazed over, creating permanent indentations in the couch. I had to coerce them back to the land of the living and they were finally able to turn it off. You make an impressive (not to mention addictive) product. I am very grateful. And because your shows are commercial-free, they didn't even beg me for new, flashy toys afterwards! There's even a chance they might have learned something new.

Don't count on this happening frequently - I would feel like you were taking over my role as a teacher and a caregiver - but thank you for stepping in this week.

Sincerely,
A Mother That Usually Provides Higher-Thinking Activities for her Children