Some days cereal is going to be for supper:

Some days are insane, crazy and so jam packed there’s no time to breathe.
After days like that the last thing you want to do is make a huge meal that possibly no one will even enjoy. These are the days that definitely deserve cereal for dinner. Not breakfast for dinner that includes some kind of meat and pancakes, nope just cereal. Am I right?
As I sat down to write this article this week, I was having that kind of day. Running all over the place with two kids in tow, one of whom was coming down with something, entertaining the older child with crafts and activities, rushing through homework with the eldest while trying to make dinner.

In the middle of it all, the oven broke and all I could think of was that we needed to get to our evening sport and eat part of the dinner that was ruined.
I sometimes just feel so much pressure to get it all done and done well. Sometimes it just feels impossible. It can be so overwhelming. I know I’m absolutely not alone in feeling this way and sometimes it just feels good to talk about it.
I try so hard (usually after the breaking part where I’ve yelled at someone) to remember that the things worrying me are so small, really insignificant in the grand scheme of my life or my child’s life.
Dinners don’t have to be perfect, activities don’t have to be planned for every moment of the day, and if we didn’t make it on time and arrived five minutes late no one would even blink an eye.
Except in the moment these thoughts are fleeting, gone, non-existent. It’s sad to say that it sometimes takes a very tragic story to remind me of what’s really important.
My husband spends a lot of time telling me it’s fine, relax, don’t do so much, who cares if that doesn’t get done or this doesn’t happen – I have a really hard time hearing him though.
I often try and explain myself to my kids when I’m running ragged and a little (or a lot) grumpy. I explain the little sleep I got, or that I’m not feeling well or the list of things that still needs to get done. I dole out jobs and give them ways that they can help out and they usually happily oblige. I tell myself that they’re also learning and hopefully respecting that mom isn’t perfect.
I love the occasional times I have one of them at my elbow asking if they can help (when I haven’t asked). It shows me that my meltdowns are important for them to see and feel. After all they hopefully know they can count on us. It’s nice to think that maybe we can count on them too! If they can think about us and how we’re feeling we are already helping them develop a sense of empathy.
When I see a mom out there struggling with a temper-tantrum throwing child I usually try and say something like “yours today, mine tomorrow”, or “that was us this morning” because it’s true, even if we don’t always say it we all have struggles with our kids, daily or often ever 10 minutes.
In photos and posts on social media we sometimes get the feeling that others out there have it all together, while in reality we’re all travelling this busy road of parenthood without a guide book hoping we don’t get lost.
I challenge all of us to help out another parent this week when they’re looking or feeling down. Any small gesture can go a long way, a smile, a pat on the back, a flower or a cookie delivery, helping carry a child or the groceries, anything! Don’t forget parents, we’re in this together “it takes a village!”