Friday, November 17, 2006

No More Pajamas

My life is an organizational disaster. This, of course, is by my standards
only. Most people would say that my
house is pretty clean and that, judging by everything except my car, I
have it pretty together. They are viewing me through rose-colored glasses. I am on the move from the moment that I wake up until the moment my head
hits the pillow and I still cannot manage to get everything done. I have no job outside of my home and my days
are relatively free from any major commitments. Why then, can I not find time to complete the tasks of my
day-to-day existence?





My days are heavily prioritized. The basic needs of my children come
first. Coming in at a close second are
my basic needs and those of my husband. Next come our time commitments, then my home, and finally my burgeoning
writing career. After I get up, take my
shower, get my kids up and fed, do some laundry, feed the cats, and take my son
to school or playgroup or whatever it is he has scheduled that day; my morning
is shot and I have to start preparing for lunchtime and naps. I also like to budget a little time to
actually play with my children. So, once
they are played with, fed, and asleep, I try to hop on the treadmill for 45 minutes
to get some cardio in.  Then I run downstairs to type my blog entry for the
day. I usually try to switch out the
laundry and pick up the house during this time as well. The kids are customarily awake before I can
get all of this done and, by this time, it is late afternoon and I have to
start preparing dinner. I try to play
with my kids while dinner is cooking and, shortly thereafter, my husband gets
home. We eat, try to have a little
family time, get the kids bathed, read stories and tuck them in. This is all usually accomplished by
9:30. My husband and I try our best not
to neglect each other so we spend a little time hanging out on the couch before
we head up to bed exhausted at around 10:30. The cycle starts all over again when my alarm clock goes off at 6:45 the next morning.





When am I going to find time to write? Should I relive my college years? I could pop some No Doze after dinner and
pull a couple of all-nighters during week. Should I start taking methamphetamines? I hear you can stay awake for days on meth. I have a thing about bad teeth, though, so that is probably not
the best idea. I could put my kids to
bed in the clothes that they are going to wear the next day. This would eliminate pajamas all together
and cut down on the sometimes-painful task of getting my kids dressed. Sure, their clothes might be a little
wrinkled and it might be uncomfortable to sleep in jeans but it would all be
worth it when I got my first published piece, right?



I realize that there are women all over the world who balance their careers and family with ease and grace.  I do not appear to be one of those women.  Striking a balance is a nearly impossible task and I must give props to the moms out there who work full or part-time, manage their homes, and take care of their families.  It is a freakin' monumental task and I have absolutely no idea how you do it.







6 comments:

  1. I have put my kids to bed in there clothes before. Zach has asked me to so he did not have to worry about it in the morning. I usually set 5 days of clothes out for zach so all I have to do is get him up and grab a pile of clothes and he is good to go. They have those day of the week things to put clothes in. I take my showers at night and sleep until the alarm goes off or one of the kids wake me up. I make sure and schedule one day a week where we have nothing to do and I do most of my cleaning those days and I pick up the rest of the week ( one load of clothes, one load of dishes, vacumm). I think running after the kids is enough cardio and something I have recently found out, if you put music on while you are cooking and put the kids in the kitchen with you ( which if they are like mine they are everywhere I am ) and I dance while I cook. It is GREAT cardio. I do squats and lunges. I jump up and down. I get all the kids involved and they have the best time. It is lost of fun! Good luck and don't be hard on yourself a clean house is not what your kids will remember or at least not what you want them to remember. You want them to remember you spending time with them not you saying hold on I will play with you in a min.

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  2. It's clear to me, what your kids need is more sear-sucker material in their wardrobes. that stuff always looks wrinkled, and nobody seems to care. I have to agree with you on scheduling, multi-taskers have nothing but my respect, being a retired old dude, I never seem to have time to do anything. buy the way, sorry about the 2 postings yesterday, the blog site didn't seem to take the 1st posting, so you got 2, makes it seem like you have a bigger following huh?

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  3. There are times that I go to sleep in my cloths for the next day. If I get two and a half more minutes of sleep, that is awesome!! I also hear that the bad teeth comes from a long time use. So you should be okay. Hailey has started in "Play Dates". I have no idea where I will find time when she is old enough to have a "real" life.

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  4. Melinda-
    I'm so glad that you have put your kids to bed in their clothes. It makes me feel less like one of those Moms on "Wife Swap" that everyone judges and talks about at playgroups.

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  5. Seersucker. Great idea. You know how much of a fan I am of those girlie short-alls with the appliqued airplanes and trains! It's really great for the winter too.

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  6. Linda-
    You sound like a busy woman. Bad teeth are also genetic and my husband has great teeth so I should be OK.

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