This rings true for other areas as well. I can't even begin to tell of awkward moments when I tell people what I do now. Well, let's see. I take care of my house, cook, clean, play with my babies and nephews, teach the middle kids, and teach two gymnastics classes. It's a bit of a mishmash of activity, but I usually give this answer, "I'm a stay at home mom."
In response I usually get one of the following comments...
I wish I could do/would have done that with my kids.
I could never do that. I would get restless.---I find this one hilarious!
Wow! How do you do it? (meaning financially)
What I wasn't prepared for was the next comment I received a few weeks back. It went something like this.
It must be so nice to not have any stress since you get to be home during the day.
I wish I would have been able to freeze time so I could have stepped outside of my own body to look at my face in that exact moment. It had to have been comical. Here this sweet mama looked at me and assumed my life was stress free. I sort of took it as a compliment. I must have looked so well put together to warrant a remark as such. On the other hand, I knew I didn't look great. My hair was in a half-in disheveled pony tail, and I wasn't quite sure if what was on my shirt was spit up or dried food. So basically, she wasn't complimenting my stress free life based on my looks. She actually thought my life was stress free.
Then there was a long pause and I said, "Yes, it's really great."
I didn't know what else to say. I do love my life. I do love being home with the kids, chaos and all, but it's nowhere near stress free. We all have our stresses. The day I stopped teaching I just traded one kind of stress for another. For me, being home is easier. I am able to take care of things, like cooking and some cleaning, that would be more difficult if I were working. However, my daily schedule is pretty full. Rarely do I have a to-do list that gets completely completed. Here's a typical day for me.
6:30-7:15 Shower and get myself ready
7:15-7:30 Chubby Cheekers wakes, eats, and goes back to bed (Steven gets the kids breakfast)
7:30-8:00 Steven leaves for work/Get Little Man and Miss ready for the day.
8:00-8:20 Get Chubby Cheekers back up and dressed
8:20-9:00 Load up and get Little Man to school. My nephews arrive.
9:00-9:30 Feed Chubby Cheekers solids
9:30-10:00 Free play for Little Miss and Chunky Monkey. Get babies settled. Do daily chore.
10:00-10:30 Feed babies bottle/boobie, then baby naptime
10:30-11:30 School Activity/Outside time
11:30-12:00 Lunch
12:00-12:30 TV Time
12:30-2:00 Naps for Little Miss and Chunky Monkey
1:00-1:30 Babies up and ready to eat again
1:30-2:00 Baby playtime
2:00-2:30 Chubby Cheekers lunch and big kid snack time
2:30-3:00 Free play/begin dinner prep
3:00-4:00 Go get Little Man from school
4:00-4:15 Get kids settled into an activity
4:15-5:00 Nephews leave, finish dinner
5:00-5:15 Pick up house
5:15-5:30 Set table, get plate ready
5:30-6:00 Eat and clean up dinner
6:00-Head out for evening activities (sports or church)
7:45 Baths, Snack, Brush teeth
8:15 Bedtime story
8:30 Kids to bed
8:30-10:00 Clean up, make lunch for Little Man, blog, shower
10:00 Lights out for me! Ahhhh....
It never ends. There is always something going on. I'm always moving. I don't get to watch daytime talk shows or eat bon-bons. I just keep moving forward.
So I'm wondering if that sweet lady who commented on my stress free life stumbled across this blog, how she would perceive my life now. Still stress free, or stressful. Honestly, stress is all how you look at it. When I typed out my actual daily schedule, I got a little overwhelmed. BUT, when I do one thing at a time, I'm okay. I enjoy what I do. That makes a world of difference. Not that everyday is rose petals, but there are enjoyable moments in every day. I just have to focus on those moments. Otherwise I would look like this...
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