Bad Mother Diaries

Gotta feed these growing boys!

Any mother who has ever taken a trip without her children will appreciate the guilt I'm feeling right now. Whether that trip was for business or pleasure really makes very little difference.

In late September, Steve and I spent a weekend together in Kingston -- work-related for him, pleasure for me.

In late October, I spent several days in Montreal for work.

Last week, Steve came to Quebec with me. He stayed for the weekend, then I stayed on through to Thursday.

I got back on Thursday and was just bagged. In fact, I worked from home on Friday because I was just too bushed to make myself presentable, and I've slept twelve solid hours both Friday night and Saturday night.

So, Thursday night, I ordered in Chinese. The boys were happy, but I felt twinges of maternal guilt for not making a home-cooked meal.

Friday night, Steve and I went out for dinner. (The excuse was that we had some errands to run.) The boys scavenged leftovers. (Yay, for Chinese food!)

Saturday night, Steve and I again went out for dinner and caught up with friends we hadn't seen in too long. The boys ate hot dogs and canned beans.

My sons had not had a "real" meal since Wednesday. Not a vegetable in sight! I could only hope they'd been eating the fruit I'd stockpiled before I went away.

So tonight, I had to prepare a real meal. No excuses. Because feeding our children is one of the fundamental mandates of mothers.

Of course, I went for comfort food: barbecue beef, corn-on-the-cob, rice. And apple pie (store-bought, but still). It felt good to sit down at the table for the first time in a week and enjoy a family dinner.

I'm feeling slightly less guilty.

Now, I have to finish the laundry.