I would show you pieces of pie, but no pie has stayed around long enough in this house to snap a picture of it. I tell you what  I'll do for my readers: when I'm shopping today, I'll buy some. Just for you. I can make this sacrifice since you've come to expect photos of stuff. I'll add them in. Ain't that sweet of me?

Why pie? What makes me bring up pie? You want some, don't you?

I was looking at twitter and a tweet caught my eye:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, announces she never did care for pie #Life #Love #wisdom

You know me. I tweeted back:

  If 1 of those 5 is the husband; a smart mother cuts 1 in half. A sneaky mom says she needs to sample each piece to see if good. :-)

But this tweet left me with a string of thoughts.

First, what's with the martyrdom?

Second, why's it all precut into a number that doesn't work?

Third, does she not have a knife? Make it into 8 pieces. Then there are three left over. And Mom can have them, too. That's wisdom.

Fourth, seriously, if the only place I demonstrate my willingness to sacrifice for my children. Okay, let's just stop there and go back to number one: martyrdom. If I'm telling you about my sacrifices, then I'm playing the martyrdom card. Blah, blah. Cry me a river.

It's my job to give of myself and my time and put my children's well-being up there as my top priority. It's important to not go overboard, though. They don't need to think they're the center of the world, and they need to learn that living in a family and in the world is a two way street. We all give and we all get.

So let me tell you what would happen if there were for some god-forsaken reason only four pieces of pie in this house and five of us wanted some. We'd be doing some problem solving really quick. No one would be giving up their pie. That's just crazy talk and uncalled for.

We'd be doing some reslicing of that pie or leave it in the pie pan, grab five forks and gather around the table. Or I'd be nibbling on the parts I like best. Look at the learning opportunities that hypothetical mother up there in that tweet missed with her family. Instead she acted like a martyr and a ninny because she couldn't problem solve.

Hey, I'd have served them the pie, sure, but as soon as it was plated, my keys would have been in my hand and I'd have been out the door to buy another pie. And maybe when I got back home with it, I'd share. I'd cut it into five pieces, though. See what I'm saying?

Smart moms problem solve. They give of themselves when they need to because it's their job as a mom, but smart moms do not go without pie and LIE to their children. If I said that, my kids would snort the pie out their noses.