"What are you going to do with yourself?"

I'm taking a moment to blog because my brain really, really wants to write but I don't have enough time before I head out the door to pick up M to delve into the editing morass that is the draft of Tarentino.  So blogging it is!

Sooo, I'm almost going to be one of those stay-at-home moms with nothing to do.  Or at least I keep getting comments like that.  S is registered for kindergarten and in half a year, I will have no children home during the day.  People keep telling me I am going to be so bored.  They keep asking what I will do with myself.

And I keep raising an eyebrow and wondering what planet they live on.  I'm going to be doing almost the same exact stuff I am now.

Look, one five year old at home doesn't add much in the childcare department.  I work with her a little on preschool stuff, but not much.  She follows me around sometimes while I do chores, interrupts my writing (like right at this second she is showing me how she has pinned clothespins to all her fingers), and keeps me company while I run errands, but she doesn't really require much work.  S is quite self-sufficient at this stage.  She entertains herself well.

But I am never, I repeat, NEVER, bored during the day.  I'm never at a loss for what to do with myself.  I'm not sure that I've been bored with nothing to do since probably the first week after my mission (that was an interesting week of culture shock and figuring out what to do with myself).  So I don't expect that suddenly, with the last child at school, I will be at loose ends.

I just don't have enough hours in the day to do all I want to do.  Yes, I'm a stay at home mom.  Yes, that means that primarily I "take care of my children" and theoretically when they are in school I will have less to do.  But since every single night is jam-freaking-packed with activities, homework, school extras, piano lessons and stuff like taking four hours to braid B's hair, the daytime is when I get the other stuff that needs to be done, done.  Like housework.  Like bill paying.  Like home maintenance.

Then there's the other stuff I do with my life.  I may be a stay-at-home mom but I also have two official part time jobs (piano teacher and newsletter editor) and one unofficial I-would-love-to-finally-get-paid-for-it job (writer).  When possible I arbitrate for familysearch's records indexing projects and try to track down our ancestors in Terence's family.  Plenty of opportunities to serve my neighbors usually pop up.  If by chance I have any free time, I read like the book-addicted nerd that I am (there is always a stack from the library just waiting to be picked up).

Nope.  No time for boredom.

In fact, I'm not sure I know any bored stay-at-home moms.

Of course, I could always be making assumptions.  Check back with me next August.  Maybe we'll all be surprised at my hours of free time and I'll eat my words.

But I'm not going to hold my breath.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I am somewhat like you but don't accomplish half as much! I NEVER ever get bored and I've lived alone for 35 years. I just have so many things I love to do, and I love to stay busy. I LOVE reading your blog. You are just a special lady, Heidi!

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