Last Saturday, Audrey was having a lollipop outside when she dropped it. I immediately picked it up, looked at it, licked it clean, and gave it back to her.

Oh yes I did.

The options? Listen to her cry about the lollipop until I walked down the street to our house to get another one, go inside my neighbors house to rinse it off hoping that Audrey would stop crying long enough for me to do that and Ashley wouldn’t run into the street, or clean it myself.

I took the easy way out, I suppose.

I never expected to be that kind of Mom, the one who takes the easy way out. I guess I always expected to have it together. Which in this case would mean having a kitchen sink by my side just in case a lollipop gets dropped on the ground.

But having it all together went away the first time I forgot the diaper bag on a trip to the mall. It also went away when I forgot it was picture day at school, or when I remembered to order the kids’ lunches, but failed to order me anything on an outing to Chick-fil-A.

And honestly, most of these things bother me more than they do the kids. That picture day at school? It was only me that was bothered that Ashley was wearing a skirt and a mismatched shirt. But looking back at those pictures now, I can laugh. I just hope she can too when she’s older.