Keeping Busy

Keeping Busy

The reactions I get to being a stay-at-home mom are sometimes amusing. Women that are contemplating the “career path” often ask “What do you do to stay busy?” (I admit I wondered that myself before becoming a mom) and women that work try their best to politely ask, “So, what exactly do you do?” When we first moved into our house one of my retired neighbors (a man) in a spirit of camaraderie commented, “Isn’t it so great to have so much free time? I’m just loving being retired.” Well, staying at home with your kids isn’t exactly like being retired, at least as far as I can tell.

Since making the choice to be a full-time mom, I’ve been quite surprised at how much free time I don’t have (and I only have two kids). Laundry and diaper changing alone seem like they consume enough hours to constitute a legitimate part-time job. Then when you add in the things you need to do (like grocery shopping) and the things you should do (like keep your yard from looking like the median on the interstate) you have to fight to fit in the things you want to do. (I’ll refrain from getting up on my soapbox about how I think this fight is a very important one for the stay-at-home mom, at least for the moment.) Sometimes I even joke that I don’t need to workout because normal life is enough of a marathon. I mean, getting the kids in and out of the car works up a pretty good sweat.

This week has been particularly jam-packed. People over for dinner, getting a new furnace, competitive shopping on Craigslist, and even a potential job interview. I’d love to tell you more about it, but that’s going to have to wait. Right now I’ve got a half hour to get everyone dressed and ready for playgroup. On your mark, get set, go!

The kid that keeps me most on my toes.

4 thoughts on “Keeping Busy

  1. Truly amazing how busy it is to stay home with kids! I admire how well you do it! I need to figure out how to better incorporate the things I want to do πŸ™‚

  2. One of Brady’s female co-workers in Utah (who was a mother of three) said being a stay-at-home mom was much more work than working at her job (and they worked hard at his office). So much of our job is doing things that are immediately un-done (wiping up spills that are immediately replaced with crumbs, folding laundry that is later dumped out of the drawer, picking up toys that end up back on the floor, and feeding the kids eat it up–or reject it–and then make spills all over again!) I call that job security πŸ™‚ But I agree, I once had the false impression that my children would happily amuse themselves all day while I read books or tidied the already-clean house.

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