eating dog food over the sink

I’m feeling unappreciated. I just can’t seem to do anything right according to my four-year-old. There is so much whining in this house and whining makes me crazy. Whatever I make for dinner is not good. No matter how many books I read it is not enough. If I want seven minutes of relative quiet in the morning so I can listen to the news on the radio, that’s asking too much. I know she’s four. I know kids are not inherently grateful creatures. I know that being selfish is a necessary part of learning how to be yourself. I don’t need her to thank me or to keep a running total of what I do for her. But I would like some recognition. A “that was fun” or a “what a yummy snack” thrown in once in a while would do the trick.

There’s a quote that goes around in my family that is attributed to my Nana – my Dad’s mother. I doubt she ever said it but it evokes precisely the sentiment of an under-appreciated mother: You kids have fun. Don’t mind me. I’ll just be here eating dog food over the sink.

Indeed.