Cereal is My New Best Friend

For the sake of my happiness, I decided to quit a bad habit. I told my family this week that I will no longer be making daily family breakfasts, effective immediately.

Yes, you read that correctly. I am now subjecting my kids to ‘child labor’, as my 13 year old has phrased it, now that he has to go through the back-breaking work of pouring himself a bowl of cereal every morning or buttering his own toast. My daughter said she just won’t eat. When I told her I won’t take her to school until she eats, she said she will just skip school. We are off to a rocky start, but we will get there.

Saying I don’t enjoy cooking is putting it mildly, but I do it and will continue to do it for other meals because I think that what we eat is so incredibly important. I made the decision early on that I would make my kids a hot, high-protein breakfast every day, as studies and our experiences have shown that what we eat first in the morning sets up our brains and bodies for the day. Morning after morning over the years, however, I have become resentful, making large breakfasts that I don’t even eat and my kids don’t really want. I think they might be happy to not have to look at another egg for the rest of their lives. My kids are old enough to fend for themselves, and they need to learn some skills and independence. I keep reminding myself that sugary cereal was my absolute favorite meal for probably the first three decades of my life, and and I came out just fine. I think.

So I quit! And it feels great. Sometimes we need to look at our lives and take inventory of what is working and what isn’t. Through this assessment we can make changes to our daily habits, one small habit at a time. In this situation, I gave up what started off as a positive habit with the best intentions, but over time the circumstances changed. I am so looking forward to that extra half hour each morning where I have time to incorporate new habits into my life to set myself up better each day. Perhaps a little yoga, some meditation, or just some quiet time off in a corner reading the news with a matcha latte. My kids will be training themselves for when they open up their Michelin-starred restaurant together. They will struggle at first, but will get the hang of it, learning along the way and having a happier mom greet them every morning. It is a win/win for all.

Anyone else up for making one small habit change for yourself that will make you a bit more happy?