Domestic Diva Goddess? Ha! No More
A loaf of my homemade bread.
Today....I scrubbed my kitchen floor. This is a big deal because I'm not sure when I scrubbed it last. Now, don't get me wrong, it's received it's occasional sweeping, and I would scrub particular nasty spots, but an all out, pull out the furniture, hands and knees scrubbing? Nope, it's off the memory grid.
Spinners at Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY.
Peace abounded. Flylady helped too.
And then, I went back to work, full time. Now I can barely keep my head above my growing laundry pile. I'm just happy when my dishes are done every night. I'd rather be playing with my daughters, or relaxing or reading a book.
Sigh. I used to be a Domestic Diva, the Goddess of my household, the Magic Fairy that would deliver clean, freshly folded clothes to their proper spots, and always have a clean sink. I baked almost everyday. I cooked. I cleaned. I folded my laundry in a way that would make Real Simple magazine proud.
Re-enactor at Genesee Country Village and Museum.
Re-enactor at Genesee Country Village and Museum.
Spinners at Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY.
Loom, Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY.
Peace abounded. Flylady helped too.
And then, I went back to work, full time. Now I can barely keep my head above my growing laundry pile. I'm just happy when my dishes are done every night. I'd rather be playing with my daughters, or relaxing or reading a book.
Being a teacher gives me long breaks of time where I can tackle my household issues. But who wants to spend their time off cleaning? Unless, of course, you have company coming. Ah! The motivation! Thus, the clean kitchen floor.
Well, the dried-on green play-doh had to go. It looked like last month's dinner. And I let the girls put on their swim suits and "help" me. I should have taken pictures. But that's something the Domestic Diva would have remembered to do, in her non-stressful, slower paced life (I'm referring to myself only, cause I never went anywhere, lol!)
Now I need two weeks to let my refried brain cells recoup. Over this past week and a half, I sank blissfully into the relative peacefulness that is my home, Little by little I got it straightened up, and I still found time to do my favorite things, read, write, blog... I asked myself, why did I go back to work? And then I remembered: the loneliness, the depression. It was time for a change.
Re-enactor at Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY
Sometimes it seems to me like the grass is always greener. Yes, work is stressful. Yes, my house can get lost in the shuffle, but work is work, whether you do it in a different building or at home. And my girls are old enough now to go to school. I'm glad I stayed home with them when I did. And I'm glad I'm back to work now....
....eventually, it will all balance out.
4 comments:
wah!
if it makes you feel better, i stay at home and still manage to never be a domestic diva. oh well. luckily, my husband has given up on the idea of me being a domestic diva and has decided to love me all the same.
Beautiful bread! And I'm impressed with anyone who folds things.
I think that's possibly the fundamental dilemma of modern motherhood. I left a high-powered international career to have kids. The first time my oldest son asked me, "Mom, why don't you work?", I almost lost it. But now that my kids are in school (and I've lost 10 years of career building and any contacts I ever had), I resent the hell out of it when people tell me I should "go back to work", like I haven't been working my ass off for the past ten years. And yeah, I'm a lawyer now (did that while having two babies, thanks), but I practice with my husband, part-time, so it seems that doesn't count, either. Sometimes I wonder just what it would take to satisfy everyone, because whatever it is, I'm not doing it.
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