I Fed My Kids Cheetos for Breakfast…

Yes I fed my kids Cheetos for breakfast. That orange-caked, curly, unhealthy thing… But I was done. Exhausted. Completely incapacitated after days and days of whipping up delicious, healthy, wholesome breakfasts.

Did I feel bad? No.

Was I supposed to feel bad? Probably.

In over a decade of raising two wonderful eaters, I have never (and I repeat, NEVER!) fed them Cheetos for breakfast. The sound of it made me cringe. And I often wonder why anyone would do it. But it was past our usual morning rise-and-shine, and the thought of cracking six eggs and turning the stove on was such a nightmare. This is especially true after I’ve worked through the night to catch up on missing assignments.

I’m usually pretty good about getting up in the morning, NOT!  This morning was particularly exhausting. I do care. And I do want them to eat well (diet has always been one of my big emphasis since I became a single mother). However, it would have taken the life out of me to make breakfast this time. So yes, I fed my kids Cheetos for breakfast.

We aren’t perfect. So let’s give ourselves a break. A Cheetos for Breakfast break!

They expect us to have everything together. EVERYTHING!

The truth is we don’t. How many single mothers out there can honestly say they’re killing it every single day? We honestly have our moments, and some are more difficult than others. While we constantly try to hold it together, every now and then, we are allowed to fail. And if not making a healthy breakfast means failing, then fine. I failed.

But what’s wrong with that?

For years, all I have done was ensure food was served at appropriate times. For years, I made sure the laundry basket never overflowed to a hideous avalanche of stinky clothes. And for years, I tried to keep everything clean and tidy, even if I was really tired. I am allowing myself to skip one breakfast.

As a single mother, we are held to expectations that many do not comprehend. We are expected to work, clean, cook, and manage the home and the children simultaneously. And alone!

We do not have a partner we can ask to watch a whining child for ten minutes. Neither can we say to the kids to “take care of yourselves while I take a nap.” It just doesn’t happen that way.

And yet, we are expected to keep it all together. It becomes a draining, vicious cycle of constantly trying to be enough.

What’s wrong with Cheetos for breakfast anyway?

Do you see how much crap some people eat???

This particular morning was tough. We rarely have tough mornings. Our routine has set in for us and we’ve grown accustomed to how we handle each other when we wake. This morning though.. If I had one word to describe it, it would be disastrous. I woke up feeling like I got run over by a high-speed train.

Part of my world includes making up for work after the kids are in bed. The night before was no different. However, whatever could go wrong, went wrong. Murphy’s Law so they say. But everything crashed. What I thought would take a mere two hours ended up costing me 6.5 hours which ate well into my sleep time. By the time I was done, I could barely think straight.

To cut the story short, the alarm went off with no one hearing it at all. We missed a morning play date, and that has never happened. I had a pounding headache by the time I was up and a back that felt like I was 85. Did I sleep wrong? How did I miss the alarm? Was there an earthquake?

Till today I couldn’t answer any of those questions.

All I knew was that I felt terrible. Even if I tried to make breakfast, it would not turn out well anyway.

So there it was, a large bag of crunchy Cheetos, sitting patiently on my dining room table. It was waiting to be devoured, waiting to be honored as the first snack of the day. And I succumbed to the pressure of the Cheetos. 🤦‍♀️

If anything at all, our day turned out pretty well.

I thought the day was going to be horrendous. I honestly thought I was such a terrible mother. If not for Cheetos, would we even have breakfast?

The kids were stoked! I became the “best mom ever.” I fed my kids Cheetos for breakfast, and it was ok! And as we went about our day, everything fell smoothly into place. In fact, I noticed there was lesser arguing and bickering. They played outside in the yard and were happy when dinner was a delicious sea of green, healthy, yummy vegetables. To my surprise, they even discussed their breakfast before bed.

The point is, we all think we are not enough. The constant need to do right by the kids is superficial, a make-believe fairy tale that Cinderella’s little animal friends would come make it all better and clean up. We all want to do right by our kids. But it does not always work that way. Sometimes, the harder we try, the further away from enough we seem. This can be very daunting.

If you take a step back and pause, you will realize that many times, our children are not waiting to pick on when we fail to provide for them. They are not waiting to see us go down the rabbit hole. They are definitely not waiting to call us out on our every mistake or mishap.

All they really want, is to know that when you opened that bag of Cheetos, you did it with love and support. And that you will get that bag open even if that is the last ounce of strength you have for the day…