The Salty Chip Dilemma

Have you ever been eating potato chips, and you get one that's drenched in salt? It's perfectly crunchy, super salty and it's the reason you eat chips in the first place. The salty chip is perfection in a snack; totally satisfying. Except, if you're like me, once you get the salty chip, you can't help yourself -
you want

    just     one     more.

I guess it's greed, and unfortunately the salty chip dilemma seems to apply to several aspects of my life. I struggle constantly with my desires. "If only the girls would sleep all night in their own beds..." Well, they do now, but it's not enough. Now I want them to fall asleep in their beds, and to do it without meltdowns or me sitting in the dark for a half hour. I want time to myself at the end of the day, but I don't want to be up until midnight to get it. I want my husband to do something besides sit in his recliner engrossed in tv. I want to be able to take a shower in the evening without it meaning the girls will stay up even later. I want the house to be clean, but I don't want to do it all myself. I want to be a stay at home mom, but not a housekeeper, and with time to myself each day. (Oops, there it is again.) I have beautiful children and a wonderful husband, but at the end of the day I resent them for "making" me take good care of them, while I set aside my own needs. So there you have it: I'm greedy and selfish. I get the salty chip every day I look for it, and then I spend the rest of the day looking for another one. Maybe the first step to recovery really is admitting you have a problem...

And once everyone has settled in for the night and I finally get that time to myself - I thank God for giving me such a great family. I look back on my day and become aware of all the great moments I had - tons of salty chips. In fact, it turns out I had to eat the whole bag before recognizing how good they were. And the dishes will be just fine sitting in the sink overnight.