What would Ma Ingalls do?
Fall is a fresh start, for kids and parents alike. New outfits and freshly sharpened pencils promise a clean beginning. This is the school year when we all do better. Lunches will be packed the night before, nobody will be grouchy in the morning and homework will be a happy experience at the dining room table. Hope is in the air — can you feel it?
This summer I’ve thought a lot about autumn. I want to be organized, efficient, calm and in charge. I want to be the mom who never raises her voice in frustration, and who instills in her children strong values they need to guide them into adulthood. Like Ma Ingalls from “Little House on the Prairie,” only with a dishwasher.
All those goals sound great when I doodle them into my planner. But chances are I’ll be the mom who can’t even wipe down her own kitchen counter because there is so much crap piled next to the toaster.
OK, scratch out perfection, maybe I should concentrate on achievable instead. Rather than focusing on a bunch of goals, I’ll hone in on one guiding principle that will take me all the way to Christmas. That’s doable, right?
So here it is, a whole summer of musing boiled down into one rule to live by. This school year my goal is to seek the cheap, healthy and green alternative because it will make my life better and demonstrate responsibility to my children.
Think I’m exaggerating? Consider a few examples and decide for yourself.
Situation No. 1: How will I entertain my family this Saturday? We could kill time at Target and buy stuff from China we don’t need, or we could go for a walk on the beach.
Situation No. 2: Between gymnastics and swimming lessons, I need to feed everyone dinner. I could spend $35 at the drive-thru, or I could run into the grocery store and buy bagged salad and a rotisserie chicken for 12 bucks.
Situation No. 3: I spent so much money outfitting the kids for the new school year that now I feel shabby by comparison. I could go to the mall and buy myself several new outfits, or I could organize my closet, break out the iron, and spiff up the wardrobe I already own.
Situation No. 4: Assembling school lunches numbs my brain. I could stock up on prepackaged junk food, or I could enlist my kids to help organize a week’s worth of nutritious options in reusable containers on Sunday night.
If I embrace the cheap, healthy and green lifestyle, I could be like a modern day Ma Ingalls, living right here in Edmonds. I can see it now … “Little House in Snohomish County!”
But will I be able to wipe off the kitchen counter and finally deal with that pile of junk next to the toaster?
Sigh … I guess that’s a goal for winter.
Jennifer Bardsley is an Edmonds mom of two, and author of the book “Genesis Girl.” Find her online on Instagram @the_ya_gal, Twitter @jennbardsley or at teachingmybabytoread.com.
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