Because I Said Never

There was a time in the young CoffeeGal's life when she spoke of things she didn't really know.

Like that time, before children, when I knew all that was to be known about child-rearing based on years of babysitting and common sense.

Yes, as things tend to go with young mothers, I had a laundry list of things I would never do when the stork dropped my first bundle.

I was never going to spank.

Wasn't going to bribe.

I wasn't going to let my kids watch TV; fix separate (kid friendly) meals; or lose my cool when my little angel was having a fit in the check out line of the grocery store.

Nope. Not me. Never.

Of course, things change when reality hits.

Its amazing how differently life looks when you are living on 2.7 hours of sleep and haven't showered in three days.

There comes a moment when you realize that you may have picked a few battles that aren't worth the war. So, you set the kids in front of PBS (cuz at least its "educational"), while the nuggets cook in the oven, and hope that this buys a twenty-minute window to get the "real" dinner ready. Oh, and maybe a shower.

Having been in this Motherhood gig for nearly 13 years, I thought I'd learned my lesson(s).

I thought I had willingly turned in my No Never card, for the Been There, Done That.

I was wrong.

Last week I did something I've never done. Something I thought I would never do:

I bought a loaf of white sandwich bread.

I won't go into details, but a certain girl who shall remain nameless, apparently ate white bread at a friends house.

Within the first bite she understood the depth of her deprivation and firmly declared foul. She announced that she didn't like sandwiches unless they be made of non-whole grain manna.

I thought this little protest would never fly. After all her love for peanut butter would overcome! So for nearly three months I pressed into the battlefield by refusing to buy the squishy mal-nutrient carbs.

I was wrong.

She is sweet, but she's resilient. She knows what she likes.

I became desperate, because in a household where I provide three meals every. single. day. the sandwich is a staple.

However, the real shocker came the day I found myself in the grocery store reading the labels. (I looked over my shoulders, lest anybody see me with sub-nutrient food in my hands.) I was shocked! Did you know that some white breads are enriched, having no HFCS and are actually higher in fiber and protein?

How could I refuse?

She can get her whole grains in her bowl of Cheerios, and all those Pop-tarts she eats.

Just kidding.

She doesn't eat Cheerios.

So there. You know the truth. In the world of parenting I have lost the White Bread Battle, but I have gained ground in the Never-Say-Never War.