First rhythm of the year: domestic labor v. paid labor

 I was JUST thinking that I need to be able to place more books on hold via Libby and then— suddenly—- I found Cooper’s library card in the kitchen junk drawer while I was searching for washi tape to put our laminated weekly schedule back on the fridge. Now I have THIRTY HOLDS, and I think this is what’s going to make me love my Kindle.

EVERYONE went to school yesterday (and Ben went to work), and I had four GLORIOUS hours alone in my house.

I went to the co-op for dinner ingredients and my favorite coffee, and then I cam home and did my 24 minutes of writing and wrote a poem for the first time in literal YEARS. I listened to a book while folding laundry and changing Harry’s room from holiday bedding to regular bedding (all 7 beds changed out— now I just have to take a load of books and quilts I de-cluttered in the process to St. Vinny’s (fave local thrift store) and figure out how to to cram all the seasonal bedding and pillows into one giant storage box. I took a walk outside. I read another book and thought about opening my Kindle. And then it was time to pick up Minnie. BUT I HAVE ALONE TIME TODAY, TOO. IS THIS A DREAM?

(I am sure she will be running a fever by tomorrow. One of her friends came to school with a cough so terrible I would be heading straight to the ED, so that’s neat.) (Also, IT IS A PART DAY NURSERY SCHOOL, not a daycare, SO NO ONE NEEDS to send their kids, so let’s all keep sick kids home, yes?)

(Today I have to pick Coop up and take him — with tag along Minnie— to the orthodontist over the lunch hour because the me who scheduled this appointment was an idiot, so it looks like Culver’s for lunch and more chores during preschool time since I will miss a chunk of home-time).

Actually! I also cleaned out my email inboxes, and once of my emails has been hacked. All personal messages have been wiped out, and someone signed up for Match, which is actually very entertaining. And! I registered for next year’s preschool year— so smart to send the materials out on our first day of freedom. I requested 5 mornings plus one full day. LOL. Also it’s 4K next year— she’s ALMOST A KINDERGARTENER. What.

Sheet pan dinner! I bought the root veggies pre chopped and the Brussels pre shaved. I also par boiled the root veggies so I could roast everything together.

Best coffee

She’s moved on to the next holiday

PERMITTED DRIVER!!

Does anyone else HATE being a passenger for a new driver? OH MY GOD. I see dollar signs the whole time just thinking about property damage and hoping the air bag doesn’t break my nose. Although, Dorothy broke my nose with her head when she was little, and it has been fat and crooked ever since, so maybe I need a re-break? BUT NOT THAT WAY.

My challenge this whole semester is to figure out the very best way to spend my kid-free time— this includes early morning, preschool time, dance class waiting room time, and also evenings. It’s a mix of being necessarily productive and also doing things that make me happy. I generally am a crabby shrew by the time Ben gets home because I feel like I get stuck in the kitchen around lunch time and then just sort of stay there all day long until it’s time to pick up Cooper and start my night shift as an unpaid Uber driver. Maybe I would rather work in the basement for a few hours before the drive zone? But I can’t spend my mornings doing housework only. It’s a balance. And, like, today, for example, I want to make spaghetti sauce because I want to eat spaghetti sauce. I need to make banana bread because we have a bag of pulpy bananas in the fridge, but these 2 jobs, plus being interrupted by a 3 year-old seven thousand times**, guarantee I will be trapped in the kitchen and tired and cranky by the end of the day. 

How do I reach end-of-day refreshed and excited to see my spouse and big kids, too?

I feel like answering this question will unlock a new level of happiness and influence, oh, I don’t know, all the other rhythms I am noticing. 

** Minnie does not interrupt Ben in the same way she does me— it is WILD because we both worked from home with her since she was a fetus. I can’t help but blame myself and the way I prioritize work v. domestic labor, but it’s MADDENING.

Cute, though