Groundhog Day

Does anyone else feel like their life is basically reliving the same day over and over again? Each of my days are remarkably identical. Every morning I rise with Joshua around 6:30 in order to help him get ready for school. I make him breakfast while I drink green tea and unload the dishwasher with the previous night's dishes. He talks incessantly while I attempt to shake off the cobwebs. I remind him to brush his teeth, beg him to wear a winter coat (he never does, unless it's less than 20 degrees) and he's off, the lasting reminder a shockingly-loud slammed front door.

I then trudge into the girls' room and carry Kate into the living room. I've found that this is the only effective way of waking the child. She hates being rushed, so I try to have everything at her disposal in order to minimize the potential for an argument. She and I have very similar attitudes, so our arguments can become a little heated. I bring her a granola bar, juicy juice, and a whole grapefruit and allow her to watch PBS for a few minutes to wake up. I then bring her an outfit, go to pack her lunch, and then we're off to the bus stop (my first of three trips to the end of our street).

I return home to our very self-sufficient six-year-old, Emma. She is so independent, that, with the exception of food preparation, she would never need me during the morning. She enjoys her mornings playing "school", with her dollhouse, and watching a few cartoons. I usually beg her to play a game or read a book and she always refuses. I do my yoga downstairs, work on some laundry, and waste a little bit of time on my computer. We head to the bus stop around noon and then I look forward to three hours where I can run errands, have my quiet time, load and run the dishwasher and start dinner. The three hours flies by at warp speed and pretty soon Josh is home from school and after I listen to the highlights of his day it's time to head to the bus stop for the third time.

I finish making dinner and we all eat together. We help the kids with their homework and then Rob and I invariably sit in front of our computers while I watch Food Network. I run the dishwasher for the third time and marvel at how the house is a wreck even though I've cleaned it up fourteen times.


Now, I realize that once Rob reads this he'll shake his head in disbelief. It is very true that I've got lots of free time and that my life is very simple and extremely easy. I agree that it's probably not fair that he works so hard while I get to stay home. I'm beyond thankful that I have the luxury of being a full-time mother and I try not to take it for granted. The only argument that I can present from my corner is the fact that, for the most part, my work is always undone. Meals are always eaten and the kitchen and dishes need to be cleaned, laundry is dirtied, the house gets messy (again and again and again), and I always need something at the grocery store.

At the end of every one of my groundhog days, I can simply say: they are worth it-