Month: February 2018

This is my year. I just feel it. 2018 is the year of Snack Mom. Kind of like Chinese New Year, the year of the dog, and I love dogs, so it makes sense. Snack Mom will not back down. Snack Mom will take no prisoners. Snack Mom wants a better world for her children and all children. Snack Mom is like a dog trying to find room on the couch. Determined! Motivated! Snack Mom is getting shit done!

I have some new fitness goals this year. I figure I need some bigger muscles and some badass accomplishments to be taken seriously for my other goals. Stay tuned for those. This Sunday, I will be competing in the first of a series of five 10K trail races this spring. In June, I will be competing in my first ever triathlon. Incorporating swimming into my training every week has been a challenge. Conclusion: breathing in the water is hard. Humans do not have gills. Who knew?! In the fall, I will be running a half marathon and then will repeat the Rehoboth Seashore full marathon for the second year in a row. I know what you are thinking. Trust me, I’m thinking it too, but this is 2018, and Snack Mom needs muscles, literally and figuratively.

I will also be turning my soapbox Facebook posts into action this year. The social media arguments are so 2017. Those arguments do nothing but waste Snack Mom’s energy and give her anxiety. As if providing snacks for sporting events and fighting the homework battle weren’t enough. First order of business: safer schools. Why is this a political issue? Seriously. Is it a liberal conspiracy to propose that children should not get murdered in math class? It is time to say enough is enough, on many issues, and rather than argue with people who disregard logic and facts, we shall collaborate with like-minded purveyors of truth, logic, and social justice to plan and take action.

Along those same lines, I saw an inspiring video clip of Will Smith this morning. He talks about finding a way to set the world on fire with your passions, and only letting people in who “fan your flames”.

I found a quote from St. Catherine of Siena, along those lines, which states, “Be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire.” I am now obsessed with this motivating mantra. As I have reached middle age and have already put a down payment on my future nursing home, I have realized how important it is to follow your passions to find your life’s purpose. My greatest struggles in life have led me to a very fulfilling path in life and what I believe is my purpose. More and more, every day, I allow myself to focus on the direction of my path and how to make it more meaningful and impactful. I am allowing my passions to fuel my flames and to set the world on fire, well, my world at least.

An important piece to the Fresh Prince’s message, however, is to surround yourself with those who are fanning your flames not extinguishing them. Often in life, we find ourselves putting so much effort into toxic relationships, whether with friends, significant others, family members, or even our careers. Whatever energy you put into those relationships takes energy away from what should be fueling your passions, your life’s purpose. It’s simple thermodynamics. Energy is finite. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only rearranged, so don’t rearrange it into something negative that takes away from your purpose. (FYI, Snack Mom loves thermodynamics.) If you find yourself consistently emotionally drained from a relationship, then it is not fanning your flames. It’s not worth it, and sometimes those relationships require limits and boundaries, and sometimes even an end. Trust me, Snack Mom learned the hard way.

Finally, I want to be a better role model. I have been given a precious gift, a voice for our future generation of young women, in my career and in my home. Don’t think for a second that I take that lightly. Every day, in 2018, I shall wake with a renewed energy and do everything I can to fan their flames. The responsibility is massive but the possibilities are endless. Snack Mom needs strength, physically and emotionally. Snack Mom needs to fuel the flames, and be surrounded by those who fan them, to not only set the world on fire, but to teach the future generation how to do the same thing. 2018 is the year of the dog, the Eagles, AND Snack Mom!

You might be wondering how the blog name came to be. Can we please be honest for a moment about the whole snack mom thing? My first question is, where are all of the snack Dads? Are men not capable of using Sign Up Genius or bringing in a plate of brownies? Do men get lost in the grocery store? Well, they might, but they do have signs above the aisles. The snack mom thing just gets me. I wish the dads could get in on the action too. Maybe there are dads sitting home at this very moment wondering when their big opportunity might arise to make kale brownies.

Another thing… there are so many rules now for the snack moms to follow. You can’t just go in the cabinet and pull out the brownie mix anymore. If you don’t sign up fast enough, you might get stuck with the “healthy treat”. How is the healthy treat even a treat? Carrots and hummus is kid party worthy now? I was very happy with Doritos and a cupcake when I was a kid. Nobody asked for gluten-free, peanut-free, fun-free snacks in the 80’s. Let’s be real, and I never witnessed one case of anaphylaxis. Disclaimer: This is not to say that I don’t feel for the allergy moms and kids. I do. I really do, but this snack mom ain’t got time for that.

Oh, and how many parties do the kids need every year? My children come home with shopping bags full of candy, and then look at the Valentine’s chocolate hearts I gave them and asked why they were so small! Don’t think I didn’t notice the super crafty homemade Valentines that came home and the Pinterest-worthy Valentine fruit wands on Instagram. The “You rock, Valentine” printable on a box of Pop Rocks. That’s extra. Just for that, your kid gets extra Walgreens-special Fun Dip packets, in blue of course.

I guess the overall theme of this post is why are we making parenting, i.e. snack-momming, so difficult these days? Can we go back to lazy parenting days of the 70’s and 80’s? Can we ask for snack dads, and homeroom dads, and PTA dads, instead of moms?

Perhaps these musings contribute to my social awkwardness, but I can only imagine that many moms share my feelings. Can’t we all agree we need to tone it down just a notch? How about we agree that we don’t need class parties every month? And the dolphin banana fruit cup thing (see home page) is soooo extra. Snack moms don’t get medals or anything.

…when she has a lot to say? Some people appreciate a sense of humor and a brutally honest point of view, but some people don’t, so here I am. I generally have a lot on my mind with opinions to share and I was realizing the Facebook confrontations were just not helping my anxiety. It is time to start writing.

Today, I am struggling to come to grips with yet another school shooting. When will we say enough is enough. Why is the NRA more important than our children’s safety? I am so sick of hearing “thoughts and prayers”!! We need action, not thoughts and prayers! We need gun control! Oh, and then some think the answer is arming teachers? I am a teacher and refuse to carry a weapon. No way! We, moms and teachers, need to take action, use our voices, scream from the mountain tops! Enough is enough! Get out and vote for leaders that believe in gun control and are not being funded by the NRA. We can do this!

In all seriousness though, prayer is important, but let’s pray for God to give us the courage to use our voices and our passion as mothers to demand change!