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Christi Diggs
on May 23 2013 - 06:00 AM
A drop of spin, a cup of deception and tsp. politics=Apathy
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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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OK. When your kid says these words to you, you won’t forget them. Or what you were doing at the time you basically told him you didn’t have time for him, or that horrible, hurtful look he had on his face.
And once you hear those words, you’ll probably spend the next hour or two feeling incredible guilt and won’t get any of the things done that you were doing when you couldn’t play with him in the first place.
For me, it seems like this is life every weekend. That’s when I try to get done all the things I couldn’t do during the week because of work, football practice, monitoring teen’s homework, potty training and nightly reading time. Pencil all that into a daily calendar and you’ve got zero time for cleaning, shopping, cooking and, dare I say it, exercising.
So, I take the weekend. And come Monday, I need another weekend to rest up for work.
Last night I was in special high-gear, must-get-everything-done-tonight mode. So I started laundry, put dinner on the stove. Hey, why not start making tomorrow night's casserole for my mother- and sister-in-law who will be in town for less than 24 hours? And now that I’m going to have homemade broth (from the chicken I need for the casserole) might as well make a pot of chili for lunches.
Three stove burners full of food. The fourth with a pan ready to make sauce for said casserole.
But, wait. It’s sister-in-law’s birthday, can’t forget the cupcakes. I’m juggling it all (and don’t forget the laundry downstairs) as youngest colors and oldest finishes homework. Husband’s in the garage fixing a car.
All is right with the world. This is family life, I say to myself. And I’m loving every minute.
Until youngest wants mommy time.
“Mama, want to play a game with me?”
“Oh honey, I can’t right now, I’m making dinner.” Make that, dinners. And cupcakes.
His eyes get wide and the lips goes out a bit.
“Don’t you WANT to play with me?” he asks, just about as dumbfounded as he was when he discovered this weekend that Santa can’t bring him gifts for another three months. He’s still struggling with that.
So there I stood, a stove full of pots and the oven timer going off. Did I mention I decided to make an extra pot of soup because I had leftover chicken and broth and rice? (Yes, I’m out of control. No, I’m not on drugs.)
Then, it hit me. I’m not going to remember the damn casserole or the chili or the soup, or the stroganoff we had for dinner. The cupcakes? Maybe. (Just kidding ... they’re really dry.)
I would, though, forever remember not taking time to play a game with youngest.
The food could wait. It did. So did the dishes and the laundry and believe it or not, the Sunday night football game.
After dinner, I just pushed everything aside. Tuned everything out.
And the family sat and played charades.
Who cares that the soup is yucky, the cupcakes barely edible and I don’t have a clean outfit for work.
Youngest went to bed happy, knowing that I DID want to play with him.
It is so hard to juggle..I understand totally. I have pretty much given up having a clean house, but I figure someday there will be plenty of time to clean when the kids have grown and are having their own families and lives.You're a fantastic mom! Guilt waits around every corner, doesn't it? I'm happy you were able to stop the impossible and play. I do have to remind myself, though, when I say no that is a lesson, too. As the kids get older, I'm teaching them the world doesn't completely revolve around them, and we all have responsibilities. At least that's what I tell myself. Who am I kidding? I'm going to go play a game with my girls right now.
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