Sam was sick w/ a cold this week, so we lost 2 nights of sleep. I slept in the guest bed w/ him next to me, propped up on pillows so he could breathe properly. Poor baby. He's feeling a little better today.
Anyway, I was a busy bee today and I feel like the week has caught up with me. Sam has been sleeping for over 2 hours this afternoon, and I've been able to clean out my purse, balance the checkbook, menu plan for next week, and have some peace and quiet. It's been SO refreshing! I even lit a candle and am listening to the Legends of the Fall soundtrack to enjoy this time...although the candle is next to Sam's sippy cup and Elmo book. :)
Man, running a household is a FULL-TIME JOB! When people say stay-at-home mom's "don't work," I cringe...although I know they mean "work outside of the home." Staying at home is a lot harder than I thought it would be. If Sam's up all night, I'm up all night. If he's sick and crying all day, I'm taking care of him then, too. I'm also doing laundry, dusting, vacuuming, sorting mail, balancing the checkbook, getting Sam breakfast/lunch/dinner, changing diapers, running to the grocery store, exercising, not to mention balancing being a wife, friend, daughter, etc., having time w/ the Lord (should've listed that first!), playing w/ my Sammy, scrubbing toilets, washing out poopy cloth diapers in the toilets, scrubbing toilets again, taking out the trash, making the bed, putting away clothes, reading a book in my "spare time," unloading the dishwasher, keeping the kitchen floor swept (and mopped if I'm lucky)...and then there's those random to-do's like washing the car, pulling weeds, organizing closets, keeping up w/ birthdays and other holidays, home improvement stuff, cleaning out the fridge, and then "fun" to-do's like writing in Sam's baby book, taking/developing pictures, blogging, etc.etc.etc.
I know I should be thankful that I get to stay home w/ Sam. I really truly am. There's nothing sweeter than in the morning, snuggling w/ Sam, reading a book after breakfast, and staying in our PJ's as long as we want. It has been a privilege. And because there will ALWAYS be a list of to-do's, I purposefully take days to just BE with Sam. Those are so precious. But if there are too many "BE-ing" days, the laundry & trash & mail piles up and I'm drowning. I know that people pay other people to do a lot of this stuff, but we're not there right now. (lawn, cleaning, baby-sitting)...so I've learned to dust while Sam's hanging onto my leg "dusting" along w/ me (he really does try) and he "helps" me load the dishwasher w/ his plastic bowls...so yes, sometimes my chores take twice as long w/ Sammy at my feet...but those times are so precious to me too.
Being a stay-at-home mom can be really isolating too. Since throughout the day, I hear "Mama, Dada, Wawa," I'm pretty starved for intelligent adult conversation by 5:00. I've learned that there really is a balance between play dates, running errands, taking care of the house, time w/ Sammy, friends, family, husband, and myself. I try to balance it, because if I wanted to, I could shop all day w/ Sam in the car seat & stroller, or run from play date to play date and not really even have quality time w/ Sam. Sometimes I say "no" just because I feel like even though I'm a SAHM, I'm missing my child. It's easy to get things out of whack in this rat race of life.
I guess this turned from a venting-blog to a man-I'm-thankful blog. That's probably a good thing. My suggestion is next time you ask a mom if they "work," make sure you end with "outside of the home." It usually makes the conversation go a little smoother. :) And a shout-out to my working and/or single mom friends: WOW. I can't imagine working outside of the home full-time and then trying to cram all of the above into what's left of the day! Jason was traveling this week, and alot of the to-do's I completed between 9 & 11 PM. I guess that's how it's done. Case in point...being a mom is HARD work! Mother's Day is the most under-rated holiday ever! :)
2 comments:
Love it! I agree that being a SAHM is one of the hardest jobs! I feel like I can keep up in the summer, but now that I am back at work, i am cleaning all weekend! Count your blessings! You are a WONDERFUL mommy!
I'm glad you posted this. Being a mom is HARD. More fulfilling than I could have every imagined, but harder than I could have ever imagined! I know the full-time working OUTside the home, but this summer has given me a look at the SAHM side too. They each have their pros and cons. SAHM-side leaves you feeling like you SHOULD be getting all the to-dos done, b/c you're HOME, but there's really no more time for it than if you were working OUTside the home!! If you're working OUTside the home, you just don't feel as guilty about not being able to, but you're so exhausted that you never want to when you DO have the time (9-11pm!!). I definitely had more guilt about what wasn't getting done this summer b/c I felt like it was expected that I should be able to... And of course you're more starved for adult interaction. But I totally get what you mean that if you're out running around for "yourself", even if your child is WITH you, you can end up really MISSING them b/c of the lack of 1-1 interaction! This happened to me lots. So yes, it def has to be a balancing act. Oy vey! Bottom line though: Aren't we lucky to be mom's?!?!?! We won't be remembered for how clean our houses were. But our children will remember the time we spent with them and the lessons we taught them :) Ahhhhhhhh
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