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What did you do today?

Such a simple question.  It's also something that many stay-at-home-mothers don't want you to know because it's not glamorous.  The most common answer I hear from my SAHM friends is, "Nothing."  That doesn't come close to truthfully answering the question.  Because, the truth is the answer is problematic.  To any other person, the truth appears to be wasted time, disorganization, a lack of control, or simply chaos.  By corporate standards, these descriptions are relevant, but not the full truth.  SAHM job descriptions are not your standard roles.  You cannot describe productivity or success in a day.  However, never let it be said that "nothing" was done during a day.  So, to clarify what we mean by "nothing," here's a portion of a day in the life of a SAHM:

6:00 am: Woke up to husband getting ready for work 
6:05 am: Husband gets in the shower while toddler comes crying into the bedroom because she didn't quite make it to the potty in time
6:06 am: Begin cleaning up the "trail" left by toddler
6:07 am: Baby begins crying because toddler decided to let herself - and 50 of her most favorite toys - into his bed 
6:08 am: Toddler starts crying because baby is playing with her toys
6:09 am: Have to separate children and take all toys back to toddler's room while telling toddler that, if she doesn't want baby to play with her toys, she cannot take them into his room
6:10 am: Continue cleaning up toddler's "trail"
6:12 am: Toddler starts yelling for Mommy because she's climbed up to the top bunk of her bed and can't get down
6:13 am: Mommy turns on TV to PBS yoga because, apparently, TV programmers haven't figured out that children wake up before 6:30 am.
6:15 am: Mommy finally finishes cleaning up "trail"
6:16 am: Baby needs a diaper change
6:20 am: Husband finishes shower and begins to get dressed
6:21 am: Children are all gathered in Mommy's room watching yoga and causing mayhem because Mommy refuses to make breakfast before 7 am
6:23 am: Mommy brushes her teeth
6:24 am: Mommy realizes that baby is now tall enough to reach remote controls on the nightstand
6:25 am: Mommy resumes brushing her teeth
6:26 am: Baby gets stuck between bed and nightstand while trying to reach for the alarm clock wire
6:28 am: Mommy finishes brushing her teeth
6:30 am: PBS kids programming finally begins and kids begin to pay attention (to it - not Mommy)
6:31 am: Mommy jumps into the shower
6:32 am: Toddler starts crying because she wanted to take a shower with Mommy
6:33 am: Toddler gets in shower with Mommy
6:34 am: Mommy finishes shower because she can no longer see Baby
6:34:30 am: Mommy finds Baby in the closet with a new teething toy: Mommy's shoes
6:35 am: Husband is dressed and ready to go to work, gives everyone a kiss goodbye
6:36 am: Toddler starts saying her "Tummy is grumbling" - Mommy responds that she needs to get out of the shower if she wants breakfast
6:37 am: Mommy finds what she assumes is clean clothes to wear for the day
6:38 am: Toddler is still in shower
6:39 am:  Baby starts crying because Mommy has shut the door on the toilet
6:40 am: Mommy shuts off water to shower and toddler immediately starts crying
6:42 am: Toddler finally gets out of shower and runs out of bathroom wet and naked
6:44 am: Mommy is still searching for wet, naked toddler
6:45 am: Toddler is found outside in the backyard telling the puppies that pee and poop goes in the potty, not on the grass
6:47 am: Mommy finally gets toddler back inside 
6:49 am: Toddler is screaming at Mommy because she doesn't like the outfit that Mommy picked out
6:52 am: Toddler finally agrees to wear neon, multi-colored shorts, plaid shirt, Hello Kitty socks and dress shoes
6:53 am: Toddler hits baby because he's gotten into "her" toys that she "borrowed" from him
6:54 am: Mommy and toddler are discussing "good choices"
6:55 am: Mommy finds baby in the potty because toddler forgot to close the lid during previous accident
6:56 am: Baby gets impromptu bath
7:00 am: Kids are finally all dressed and it's time to go downstairs for breakfast

Mama Law learned: Don't ask a stay-at-home mom about what she did during the day unless you really want to know the truth...just ask if she needs a drink with dinner.

Comments

  1. LindseyJuly 31, 2013 at 4:23 PM

    Or a drink with lunch... meh... better make it a mimosa with brunch ;)

    ReplyDelete

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