Wanna know why my house isn't clean?
I'm a working mom.
I know that's not a be-all, end-all reason, but what does it mean?
It means I was physically away from my home for 11 hours today.
Factor in getting ready for work, getting Jena ready for school, the few chores (laundry & dishes) I got done this morning, plus the dinner we just ate, and I've been "working" for 14 hours.
Bedtime routine, including bath, will be around an hour for the munchkin.
That means I will have been working, either at my job or directly taking care of my child, for 15 hours today.
That leaves just 9 hours to spent a tiny bit of quality time with my husband, attempt to perform a few household chores, get myself ready for bed, and, you know... sleep.
This is not a rare circumstance. This is a normal day.
Factor in a trip to the grocery store, an odd errand, or (Lord willing) the occasional trip to the park, and my available house-cleaning time shrinks significantly.
Our weekends are booked almost solid between now... and New Years. True story.
Oh, I should have my husband help out more?
Well, my husband's job means that he is gone overnight at least 1/3 of the time (more if he's pulling a double - like he is tonight & tomorrow).
The nights that he is off shift, he is either working late at his 2nd job (got home at 7pm last night), or doing his own chores (reparing the chicken coup, digging out a clogged septic pipe, mowing the lawn, etc).
And squeezing in far-too-little quality time with myself & Jena.
I wish my house were tidier. I really do. I really, really do.
But I'm going to stop feeling guilty about it.
I think a 15 hour work day should grant me at least that much, don't you?
3 comments:
You can do tidier, that's the easy part, the hard part is keeping it clean. It took my kids years to finally catch on to the concept of putting anything you use away as soon as you are finished with it. It takes just seconds to do it then, but if you wait, you have a room full to tidy up. Moral is, if you keep it tidy (picked up), it "feels" clean and you can get away with out cleaning a little longer. I shall step down off my soap box now.
Totally get what you're saying here. It's one of the reasons I go around on a regular basis 'editing' things out of my house. Less to take care of when I'm already short on time and things feel cleaner with less clutter and more room. Oh, and I never leave a room empty handed.
Yes, while there are things we can do to make it easier, nobody needs to feel guilty about how clean their house is or is not. Life is short and we never feel bad in the end about not cleaning. Time spent with those we love is always worth it.
I am a working mom who hates working. I feel like your posts have put my very thoughts into words. I used to love work and would always be willing to come in early, stay late and everything else in between. I have been trying 28 months to make the best of my situation, but I feel like its getting worse. I feel like a shell of the person I used to be and hate the daily feeling of failure in all areas of life. But yet I know my life isn't so bad compared to so many others. Yet I still can't get a handle on this struggle. Thanks for sharing.
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