I have to come clean - today I took Leo to get a happy meal from McDonalds. I can't even pretend I didn't have any food in the house. I had dinner planned with ingredients in the fridge but a playdate with cousin Frankie went overtime and I just couldn't face racing around trying to get the cooking done before Leo got too hungry and went crazy.
To make matters worse, Leo was soaking wet from an afternoon where he was not only in the pouring rain but also in a wading pool. Consequently he was just wearing the only dry pair of shorts available and some sandles and looked like a drowned rat.
So wouldn't you know it, as we trudged back home - me with a giant bag of Maccas and Leo carrying his happy meal - I ran into an old school friend. I was super embarassed because this is the first time she had met Leo and he couldn't stop talking about his burger and had his shorts half-way down his bottom and I just didn't feel like the model of good parenting in the circumstances. My friend kindly texted me afterwards to let me know that she was actually on her way to get KFC and hoped that no judgement would be passed in either direction!
It's bizarre that I feel this level of guilt about feeding my child a burger - especially as those canny people from McDonalds will now package it up with some juice and apple slices. When I was young, my parents took me to get a cheeseburger once a week so I would eat some red meat and I see this as a totally acceptable thing to do.
So I can only hope that my guilty admission will make others feel ok about resorting to fast food now and then. Gaz and I have decided that once a month is totally fine and I would definitely totally recommend choosing the apple slices in the happy meal - it makes it much easier to sooth your conscience later!
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