1. OMG, you’re soooooo lucky!!!
I don’t know, maybe I am. I certainly don’t always feel lucky. Which is not to say I feel unlucky. I just feel…tired, really. Beyond that, I really couldn’t say. The thing is, I feel like you assume that I spend my day watching cartoons, going shopping and taking naps, and that my children do as I say and eat all their vegetables and share stuff.
Reality: one can only watch kids’ shows so many times before one turns into a raging lunatic. I am one such raging lunatic, as of the 856th episode of Paw Patrol.
Shopping? I tried that once but, (a) nothing looked good on me, and (b) my kid ran out of the dressing room with my shirt on her head. I decided to abort the mission. Haven’t been to that store since.
What about the glorious afternoon siesta? Oh beloved, (smile) that’s so cute.
2. What do you even DO all day?
This is a dangerous one because I can’t tell if you’re joking or not. Also, if you’re serious, are you serious? How much time do you have, because this could take a while! I know what you’re thinking. Boo-hoo, right? Everyone is busy. That’s true, but let’s quickly go through a few things you may not expect to find on the average to-do list, because those are the things that can really mess up a girl’s well planned day. Because waking up early to get breakfast started, cooking food that no one will eat and cleaning a house that will look like a hurricane passed through it an hour later is hard, but it’s all expected. That’s the easy part.
But how about the little boy who covered his little brother in peanut butter, I mean from head to toe, just for fun.
I know of a kid who opened up his dad’s sock drawer, poured chocolate syrup over everything in there, shut the drawer and went about his day.
Sometimes your sick kid throws up all over the carpet you had professionally cleaned 2 days ago. Sometimes she would rather pee in her pants than go to the bathroom and risk missing out on 2 seconds of the fun that would certainly be had without her. There is no script, beloved.
So the answer to “what do I do all day” is that I do very little that I had actually planned to do, but as stated in point number one above, I am exhausted. So now I have to add that to tomorrow’s list. I’d throw this question out together with “What do you mean, dinner’s not ready?”
3. Ohhhhh, the things I would do with all that free time!!!
What free time?
Here is the conclusion of the matter. I’m not lucky, but I do believe I am blessed to be at home with my kids. It’s hard work, and the rewards are not always experienced as regularly as a wage or a salary. But as much as I miss going to the bathroom alone, and I miss not being asked why Barney’s arms are so small, and I reeeeaaally miss not having to break up fights about which one of my daughters already had a turn being Elsa and which one didn’t, this is not something I take for granted.
