Tuesday: Effective Advocating: Stepping Back

Saturday was supposed to be a road trip for me and the kids. Turned out to be an emotional day for everyone, but not in the good- I just went to a super cool swimming party for my cousin's birthday- way. Here's the little thing that started it all:

Cheese It's. Seriously- the yummy little processed orange square.

Spencer has been obsessing about food lately. The fact that the other kids had cheese its- one of his favorite snacks- threw him over the edge. (he did have his own bag of cheese its as well- it's not like I was depriving him)

He screamed, he kicked, he unbuckled his seat belt and started hitting the other kids. I just turned around and went back home. We hadn't gotten far- only a few blocks.

Sometimes the best decision is to step back.

Yes, he would have loved the party.

Yes, I had an amazing plan to accommodate him at the party.

Yes, I should have chosen a different snack.

Yes, I should have planned things better so we had time to eat at home and get the fit over with here rather than in the car.

Yes, we could have forgotten the whole lunch in the car bit and stopped at McDonald's on the way.

You know what? I was done. I didn't have it in me. I had to step back and re group and cry a little when my dear brother called to talk about something else and made the mistake to ask about the kids.

It's OK not to do it all. It's OK to step back and spend some time thinking about how stinking hard life is sometimes and then pick yourself back up and keep moving.