Episode 05: Lessons From a Frying Pan
In today’s episode, Megan has a total “aha” moment. When you're parenting a challenging kid, you often get lost in the moment of a meltdown and can't think of the obvious solution that could just solve the problem. Megan recounts a hilariously ridiculous story with her son, and learns a life lesson along the way. She challenges other moms to participate in the #onelessmeltdown challenge.(See more below)
This is, hands down, my favorite episode yet. I laughed all the way through the edits! But on the morning this story takes place, I definitely wasn’t laughing.
On this morning, Mr. 7 slept in. I hate to wake kids, especially him, but it was 7:30 and they had to leave for school at 8:00. Of course, in the madness of a school morning, I was rushing around getting myself ready for work, and trying to get Mr. 4 to stay in one spot in order to get him dressed for preschool.
And because Mr. 7 slept in, Mr. 4 had already eaten. His breakfast was (of course) - eggs. And he cooked them (with my help) in our 8-inch frying pan. Well, knowing that Mr. 7 wouldn’t want a super messy pan, I went ahead and washed it for him ahead of time.
Unfortunately, I was too lazy/rushed to use a brillo pad and really scrub it. I shouldn’t have to do that, you know?
But the fact that there were crumbs in the pan horrified Mr. 7, who started in on the morning’s meltdown. From there, everything got worse. He agreed to a bigger frying pan because it was clean, but the size made his eggs look small, and that made him very upset. Not only that, but I turned off the burner when he wanted to do it. And when his eggs were finally done, he almost dropped the heavy pan as he tried to scoop out his eggs. Of course, that wouldn’t have happened had he just used the normal pan…
And during this time, my husband and I tried reasoning. We resorted to begging. There was anger. And finally, it was, “Well, it’s time to go.” I had to leave for work with Mr. 4.
The story, looking back, is just so ridiculous, but to Mr. 7, it was everything. On my way to work, I talked to my good friend. I told her the story, and she said these genius words, “Why don’t you just…buy another pan?”
WHAT? How did I NOT think of that? I laughed so hard - and I still find it hilarious a week later. Sometimes, when you’re wrapped up in the moment, you can’t think of a logical solution to a problem. Not only that, but sometimes the solution isn’t going to get to the root of the issue, but it will make life easier.
And who doesn’t want an easier life?
So in this, I present the #onelessmeltdown challenge. I challenge you, Mama, to find one small issue in your child’s day that usually causes a meltdown, and - eliminate it. If your kid cries over the red plate, give him the blue one. If he wants you to wash his hair for him, consider just - washing his hair. Whatever it is, try to get rid of one meltdown, starting today. Find me on Instagram and tag me with the #onelessmeltdown.