My Official Resignation

There’s no better way to start the week than with a Costco run (said no one—EVER!).  I strolled the aisles with a laser focus, becoming only slightly distracted by a camping chair display and a great deal on ThermoFlask water bottles.  My mood was so good that I threw caution to the wind and impulsively grabbed a box of Jimmy Dean individual breakfast quiches from a freezer end cap. Visions of boys thrilled with a new breakfast option danced through my head as I waited to check out.  

Reality hit the next morning.  Two of the three boys took one look and declared it disgusting, spewing a string of complaints that led me to do something drastic....I resigned all of my motherhood duties, effective immediately.  I calmly informed my two ungrateful offspring that they were on their own for the morning. The car would be leaving at 8:15 to take the one grateful child to school.  If they were interested in riding along, it would be up to them to be buckled in at the appointed time.  

The next hour was a quiet one.  Grateful child, sensing the gravity of the situation, murmured loving praises while exhibiting his best behavior.   The other two didn’t seem to know where to start.  It took so long to make their lunches that they weren’t able to get their other morning tasks complete.  One didn’t eat breakfast and forgot his homework.  Both forgot to pack a snack.  While they struggled to prepare for their day, I gloried in a cup of coffee and an early devotion time.

As we drove to school, I talked about how rude and ungrateful they were, and asked them to consider if they wanted their mother back after school.  Behavior and attitudes would need to reflect it, and dinner hung in the balance.  I explained that I loved them deeply, but I would not be treated in a disrespectful manner.  

They jumped out of the car and we all proceeded with the day.  I prayed that nothing would happen to any of us since we left one another on a sour note.  It hurt my heart to draw such a hard line.  My stomach rumbled with sympathy pains of hunger for my oldest, who left for school with an empty stomach.  I wanted to sneak into my middle son’s classroom and give him a big bear hug.  

The after school routine was decidedly more pleasant than before school.  The boys quietly unpacked their bags in penance, with my oldest gratefully eating the untouched breakfast that I saved for him as a snack.  It seemed the Jimmy Dean quiche wasn’t the most disgusting thing in the world!?

I debriefed one-on-one with the boys at bedtime.  Each had a different take on the morning’s episode, and a different lesson to learn.  And even I left the day with a lesson learned.  How many times have I been encountered something unexpected and responded in a knee-jerk, ungrateful manner.  I can tell you (as a type-A woman) the number is higher than I’d like to admit.  

While I felt like I rocked this week’s Costco trip, I realized that God is the ultimate Costco shopper.  He knows exactly what items should go in my cart to strengthen and sustain me.  Who am I to grumble about something He chooses for me.  Thankfully, He doesn’t resign from His role as God in the face of my ingratitude.  

Cheers to Jimmy Dean quiche and the unexpected God puts in my life. One fills my belly, the other my soul❤️.