Lately, I have been wondering why in the world I call myself a "stay at home mom". There are days when I feel like I hardly see the inside of my own home. It's a frustrating dilemma. With six kids going in all directions, I leave the house at 5:45 am, and feel like I go non-stop all day. I want to volunteer at the elementary school, let the kids take music lessons, enroll them in soccer, let them extra-curricularize themselves like mad, but then when can I get my work done? Who makes the dinner? Does the laundry? Makes sure the baby gets enough naptime (and I don't mean the in-the-car, in-between-errands variety)? Takes care of the finances?
Now, my husband and I have, over the past twenty years, developed our roles in the home. He works hard in his office, and I try to do the same in mine. The only problem is, it seems like more and more of my time is taken up with stuff that pulls me away from my office! I know that my dear husband can put a good meal on the table, and he has changed plenty of diapers, etc, over the years. That's not my point.
My point is, where do I draw the line? How do I be a good mom, supporting my kids, and allowing them great growth and educational opportunities, without jeopardizing my real work--raising children of God in a home that is a safe haven. I'd love to hear how you other moms out there rise to this challenge. Maybe I can learn something. But for now, I'd better get another load of laundry going before I have to get dinner in the works and then run my child to his evening class at the community college. Sheesh.
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2 comments:
more often than not I forget to draw the line... and the scouts, PTA, volunteer, dance, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, preschool, orchestra, and friends begin to take over my life. This year I am going to be thankful for a cruddy economy that is forcing us to cut back on a few things. Maybe then I'll get back on top of things?
I'm teaching myself to more strongly protect "family time" - whether it is a designated hour or three on Mondays or the ten minutes that we're all home trying to cram food in on Thursdays - we're all together and some random phone call shouldn't take precedence...
Too often when I'm caught up with all the "other things" the things which make our home more pleasant (clean socks and hot meals) tend to slide. I try desperately to set aside the 4:30-5:30 hour to focus on doing as much as possible as quickly as possible in the home while supervising homework and music practice. Hopefully that will work, until baseball season at least!
All I am gonna say is, "You go girl!! You are doing it!"
I can't even imagine the depth of your lightest load. Six is way more than two so I'll be looking to you for the answers, not vice versa. Sorry.
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