Saturday, March 12, 2011

Every Day.

When I quit my job and moved to the "boonies," one question that people asked me frequently was, "but what will you do all day long?" Most of the people who asked this question were NOT full time stay at home parents. Many of them were not home owners. The point is, the vast majority of the people who would ask this question have NO idea how much there really is to do when you're home all the time.

One of the biggest differences to being home instead of going off to work (even if you work at home) is that you can spread out household jobs (chores) throughout the week instead of having to cram them into an evening or weekend. You can do ONE load of laundry every day or every other day, or less frequently depending on the size of your family, rather than trying to get it all done on your day off.

I tend to cook more meals which take a bit longer in the kitchen. I wash dishes FREQUENTLY - as in right after each meal. I sweep almost every day. I "mop" (Swiffer wet jet) as needed - normally I spot mop when I see a dirty spot and only do a complete job of the whole house once a month - it doesn't really need more than that if you spot mop.

I get up early (usually before 7am) not because I HAVE to, but because that's when my body's internal clock tells me to get up. I haven't had a clock in my bedroom in over a year. It's been very nice - the only time I see a clock from bed is when I am down in Chico at Dale's.

LD and I spend a lot of time talking about what he is doing. What toys he's playing with, and what movie he wants to watch or has watched. Sometimes he doesn't remember the title of a movie, so he'll describe it until I figure out what it is. Yesterday even that didn't work, so he drew me a picture!! (wishing now that I'd taken a picture of his picture!!) I couldn't figure out what he was talking about till he drew the picture, then it was perfectly clear. What a great idea that was - instead of getting frustrated because I didn't get it, he figured out another way to try to convey meaning.

LD helps me around the house. He never really complains and often voluntarily helps with jobs. He asks to help do dishes, sweep etc. He wants to take out the trash. Perhaps this positive attitude is just that he's young. Perhaps it's because I've never MADE him do "chores" and have always asked him nicely with a please. Perhaps it's because I don't complain about doing what needs to be done around the house. Who knows. Only time will tell if this is a passing phase.

Today's activities so far:
Up before 7am, washed the dishes from our late night dessert last night (yes, sometimes I'll leave some for the next morning!) as well as the dishes from when dad ate in the middle of the night. Made my bed. Ate breakfast. Moved the car so dad could get his truck out - there's a dump run in store for us later today. Contemplated dinner and realized we still have left over chuck roast and salmon. Pulled a chicken out of the freezer for tomorrow's dinner. Checked email. Sent a couple of texts to Beth. Chatted with Beth on Facebook. And it's not even 8:30 yet.

I'm not sure what the rest of the day will bring, but I know I won't be bored.

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