A Story of a Chick-fil-A Cup

It's the simple things

Today was one of those really rough parenting days. I told myself we’d limit screen time and yet we turned on Mickey Mouse before 9:00 a.m. We’ve been fighting with wasps in the backyard so have been hanging out front. But that led to me holding Nolan in one arm and dragging Cal away from the street with the other.

Calvin woke from his nap sooner and grumpier than usual. He threw his biggest tantrum as of yet because I wouldn’t turn back on the TV. At one point we lost a ball down our It sewer drain. And another one behind the couch. Plus another wasp got into the house. And now that Cal can open doors I never even got a bathroom break to myself.

Later while feeding Nolan I looked down and realized the diamond from my wedding ring was missing. So that led to me frantically searching for it while Nolan cried because he wasn’t being fed and Cal climbed all over the couch.

Oh also while trying to get the last dollop of soap while washing Cal’s hands, I accidentally splattered it all over his face.

Amid all the chaos I definitely lost my cool several times. I raised my voice, I shed a few tears, and I cheated on my health journey a lil bit.

It would be easy to write this off as a bad day and end it with wine and chocolate and a huge rant session to my fellow mom friends. But as I write this I can’t stop thinking about the main highlight of my day (aside from miraculously finding the diamond from my ring!). We had Chick-fil-A for lunch and my cup became the coolest toy for both my kiddos.

It started with Nolan scratching at it while I sipped the last of my Diet Coke. It reminded me of Calvin at that age also becoming intrigued by a Chick-fil-A cup. Something about the styrofoam must just look and feel so cool to their little brains. Then when Cal was breaking down, I remembered an Instagram video saying that letting your kids eat ice can interrupt a tantrum. Something about the cold and the crunch resets their senses or something. So that calmed down a very hectic 20 minutes of tears.

Then that left us with an empty cup.

Which became a drum, a hat, a shoe, and a vehicle for popping bubbles and putting a straw in and out of the lid. We blew through the straw to push the cup across the table. We tossed the lid at it to knock it over. We held it to our ears and yelled silly things to each other. Cal hid his own cup inside of it.

It was the most fun we had in a few days. And it reminded me that these are the little moments that the kids will hold on to. Hopefully they won’t remember the red ball that’s forever lost down the drain. Or the times Mama got mad over silly things. Or the days where there was more screen time than not. We don’t have to spend a ton of money on toys, or a ton of time recreating the perfect Pinterest sensory bin. These kids can literally take trash and turn it into treasure.

We’ve been talking a lot in my small group about how we as mothers tend to focus on the past (remember the last time we got a full night’s sleep?) or the future (once he’s potty trained, things will be much better). If we dwell on the present, it’s typically with a negative connotation (my life is a never-ending train of laundry and dishes and diapers). We almost have to train our brains to slow down and just enjoy the happy little moments as they come. Because they won’t be this enthralled with styrofoam forever.