Saturday morning, 8am.
Waking up already tired—from going to bed at 2am and from whatever this day may bring—I immediately make three decisions I will regret.
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Decision One: Practical but painful
Kody and Kash enter my room first, dragging their Baby Shark blankets behind them like emotional support animals. Some days they’re so close they share just one. Not today.
My weather app reads -17.
My gosh. Hibernation is in order.
But as a single mom—one income supporting six—it’s not an option. Which leads me to my first regret: deciding I must brave the cold to earn extra money.
I lie there for a moment too long, staring at the ceiling, mentally calculating whether frostbite or financial ruin would be more inconvenient this month. The kids have already decided for me. They’re awake. The day has started. There is no undo button.
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Decision Two: The kids will win
Kody uncovers his head, his hair matted but fittingly beautiful given the circumstances.
“What’s for breakfast, Mommy?”
Great. Another decision I must make. Or do I?
The pangs of mommy guilt are muted on the weekends; breakfast is not breakfast. It’s peacekeeping.
A simple Pop-Tart? That’s okay.
Leftover pizza? Even better.
Chocolate milk to drink? Sure—why not.
It’s for the peace.
It is for the peace.
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Decision Three: I convince myself this is fine
The exhaustion.
The noise.
The cold.
The weight of being the only adult in the room—always.
I tell myself I’ll rest later. I won’t. But lying to myself is faster than crying, and we’re already behind schedule.
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Midday: Survival mode
By the time I venture out into the cold, hours have gone by—filled with procrastination and wonderful conversations with Kash about how many Sprunki phases there are. Quite a few.
As I step outside, financial ruin for the day begins to sound like the best option. I reframe it as needing a day of nothingness.
That is exactly what I do.
Back to Sprunki I go.
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Evening: Bare-minimum victory
My big win for the day—lasagna, their favorite dinner.
I don’t know if any of the decisions I made today were the right ones. I only know that everyone ate, everyone was warm, and everyone went to bed loved.
For now, that feels like enough.
If you’re a parent who’s also just guessing—especially on the hard days—you’re not alone. Feel free to share your own bare-minimum victories in the comments.
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