Activities

There is a very serious misnomer out there...that being one of the STAY AT HOME MOME, or the SAHM. I am, apparently, one of these, and yet I somehow manage to never be able to Stay At Home. All I want is to Stay At Home, maybe drink some coffee, sit around in my pj's and watch some Oprah. Or even the mind numbing fun of 'The View'. I can't wait for winter weather just so that I have an excuse to ssssllllloooowwww down, and then I get all mad at myself for wanting the excuse to begin with. Why can't I slow down? Because I have three kids, that's all.

I am constantly running. Running the kids to school, and picking them up. Running to soccer 3 days a week for one kid, and then 1 day a week for the other. Gymnastics. Speech therapy (which isn't exactly a 'fun' activity, but I can't NOT take him, can I?), working one day a week, school board meetings, book club meetings (which I will NEVER give up), classroom volunteering, party planning (which will be so fun with 3 kids in 3 separate places having 3 holiday parties of sorts), grocery shopping. Always grocery shopping. Because if I'm not running around, then the rest of my day is spent planning a meal, preparing a meal, or cleaning up after a meal. And then the snacks. Oh God, the Snacking! Fresh fruit is not cheap and you have to keep going back to the store every 3 days to refill the supply. My kids are always freaking eating, as evidenced by Jack growing an inch in less than 3 months time. Rest assured, they are growing up, not out.

Sometimes the first time I eat in the course of a day is at 2 in the afternoon, and then I don't want to eat a lot because we always have a family dinner, so like today, I'll eat something like a grapefruit and drink a lot of water to fill up. I HATE eating breakfast and lunch with the kids, because they are all over me wanting what I have. Or they're running late and cannot seem to get themselves dressed, teeth brushed, hair fixed, lunches made, snacks packed and homework ready to go all by 8:20 a.m., and so a pot of coffee usually suffices in the mornings. This school thing is starting to really cramp my style.

Somehow in the course of a day I get a workout in. Like today, I practiced my wetsuit wearing and removal, because I think the water is going to be pretty darn cold for that triathlon in Wisconsin that starts at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. But I only swam for 1/2 an hour because I had to run to the grocery store.

So now I have five minutes of spare time to sit and bitch about all this running, and then add that Jack has decided he wants to join Cub Scouts, which I am not against per se, it's just a lot of 'family activites'. More activities.

So what do I do about it? Nothing. Because we are fortunate to have the health and resources to be able to help our kids explore their interests and become well rounded. That is what I want for them out of life anyway, to find out what they really like to do and then to let them do it. And I will always participate in their little room parties, and be on their school boards and committees because the world is run by mommies and I like being involved in my kids lives.

I just wish there weren't so many dang trips to the dang grocery store, that's all. Oh, and that good food could just be a little more affordable. That's all too. And someone to clean my house. And a nap every once in a while. A nap without all the guilt.

Okay, I'm getting greedy. I'll stop now.