Daddy, Can I be a Good Helper?

Oh my child. You are a always a great helper…. when you want to be. Seesh. Ok backstory… The other day we got home and I was making dinner. My oldest wanted to help with dinner. Awesome. I love it. Unfortunately, it was this dinner that I needed to make quickly and made bacon. Not so kid friendly.

I wish this was one of those stories where I pull magic out of a hat and he was able to help. It is not. It is a learning lesson for me. This dinner was meant to be a quick dinner where I could just whip something up real quick so we can eat. I was hungry, rather HANGRY, and just wanted to get some food in me. I had already snacked as SOON as I got home and wanted more food.

I was making turkey club wraps, kind of. I had some left over shredded turkey and some half used veggies. Perfect. I can make some bacon and *presto* turkey club wraps with ranch. My kids love ranch. While I was cooking the bacon my oldest wanted to be a “good helper.” I told him I didn’t need his help (remember the HANGRY part) and I just needed to get some of this done so we can eat. Whelp, that went over like a lead balloon. I instantly felt bad but also like “whatever he’ll get over it”.

I ended up finishing and guess what?! He didn’t want to eat. He probably didn’t want turkey club wraps OR he was upset he didn’t get to help. So he got his bacon, which is what he really wanted and I made him some eggs. He put some ranch on it and was happy as a clam.

So what did I learn? He is a great helper and I let my emotions rule the situation. I could have had him do something. Anything. But I brushed him aside as quickly as I could. My to-dos to do better is to assess the situation, identify the cause, and create a solution. The key thing is create a solution. Without action a plan is just a dream/thought.