Mealtime Guilt

Here is a partial list I made of reasons I often feel guilty at mealtimes.

I used the oven on a hot day. I dirtied too many dishes and made a mess. Too much salt. Too much fat. Too much junk in general. Meal too bland. Cooked things my kids did not like. Cooked things my husband did not like. Cooked things I did not like . . .

no, LOL, just kidding.

Cooked something new with a fridge full of leftovers I will soon have to throw out. Non-organic meal probably poisoning my family. Expensive organic meal wasting money that truly hungry people could use. Ate like a gluttonous pig. We didn't finish everything on our plates and just threw out the excess. Kids ate mac and cheese until they had to lie down on sofa in pain.

Allowing child(ren) to eat the same vegetable every meal for nine solid years. Not feeling grateful for my food. Weekly ramen night. Not enough vegetables. Used veggies purchased on those nasty styrofoam trays. Did not wash and save trays for possible future art project.

My vegetarian child will probably have stunted growth due to lack of protien. That is our third bottle of beer this week, are we becoming alcoholics? Dang plastic yogurt containers aren't recyclable locally. Failed to make my own yogurt this time. Children not being made to eat food served to them. Children not grateful and whiney at meals - obviously bad parenting. My 12 year old shouldn't be eating meat on a Friday. (I understand year-round meatless Fridays are still a lesser known rule of the Catholic church today.)

Meal too luxurious - people are starving out there you know. Ate out and supported company that oppresses farmworkers. Ate out and supported a company that obviously does not care if everyone in the country's health goes to pot and dies as long as they make a profit. Ate out and drove there in our gas guzzling mini-van that only gets 19.5 miles to the gallon.

This is an amazingly long and stupid list! I do this for lunch and dinner EVERY DAY! I am going to try to trade all this in for some simple gratitude. Thank you, Lord, for whatever the heck I was able to put on our plates tonight. Just thank you.