“So what is it that you do all day?” - The story of a real housewife (and no I’m not from Atlanta!)

This morning all I could think about was going back to sleep after Phil left for work. I just have to make his breakfast and lunch and then Nacho (our miniature Dachshund) and I can go back to sleep – I mean I didn’t have that much to so, or so I thought as I began to create my daily list in my head.

1. Go Grocery Shopping. I hadn’t been since before Christmas, since we were gone for two weeks on vacation. Since we’ve gotten back, we’ve been living on random food like cereal, frozen salmon w/ macaroni and cheese and turkey sandwiches. I’ve basically been stalling until my Costco coupons became effective. (Yes, my life is based around Costco coupons and I am getting really excited about them!)

2. I just noticed, upon getting up, that my dog still has fleas, even though Phil gave him a flea bath last night, and this means that all of his freshly washed blankets have fleas as well. His cage will have to be cleaned. I’ll need to wash all his toys, and I can’t go grocery shopping until I clean his cage since he stays in there while were gone.

3. I need to go to the bank to take out money for our tithing that needs to be donated to the Youth program we just took over (or should I saw got talked into) which reminds me…

4. Get stuff together for the Confirmation retreat that I just found out I is supposed to create and staff. Well, maybe I actually volunteered for this, cause I love running retreats and get kinda crazy if I’m not in charge, let’s be honest.

5. Go to the Post Office to mail my sister’s Christmas present. I was supposed to hand deliver it – long story and also send my cousin’s belated wedding present.

6. Go to Bed, Bath and Beyond, and exchange the overpriced pillow shams (I can’t spend that even if I use a gift card.) Anyways we need pillowcases, Phil can’t stand sleeping on a pillow with no pillowcases. We did have pillowcases before we left for Christmas, but I think they got lost in the laundry somewhere after we took them with us on vacation. We thought bringing our own pillows on our two-week vacation would be a smart plan since we never knew where we were sleeping. PS everyone should plan a two-week trip where you roam from relative to relative and enjoy having other people cook for you! If I could find our pillowcases, I could wash them – which reminds me we need dryer sheets – there’s a Costco coupon for that so I’ve been waiting to do laundry. Gotta go to Costco, have to take care of the fleas first – still need a grocery list.

7. Make grocery list. First figure out how Weight Watchers works (on my own in 10 minutes or less) since Phil just started using his points again. We were going to make a grocery list together so he could explain the points thing, but somehow that didn’t happen and instead he just handed the books to me this morning and said he likes lots of apples, string cheese and something else (check the book for snacks)

8. Don’t forget to plan and cook dinner for the Core team meeting tonight. Assume 8-10 people. We go to Mass first so it has to be able to be warmed up quickly or cooked before we leave. Have to be at church at 5:15 – still have to do laundry and deal with the fleas!

And my working friends look at me with that pity face and ask, “so what do you do all day – don’t you get bored?” One of my other “stay at home” friends put it perfectly yesterday, “I’ve never been as busy as when I stopped working.”
While I don’t sit at an office, and I may not be making “world changing” decisions everyday, my job is a 24-7 job. I don’t clock out. If my husband gets home late from work, I’ll fix his dinner then, and it’s not considered “over time.” I am blessed to get to stay home. Blessed that we have weekend to relax and be together since the housework is done during the week. I’m blessed to get to volunteer at the Church whenever I want. I’m blessed with a husband that overheard someone telling me I should go back to work full-time and after he told me “I really like having you home.” I’m signing up to substitute teach and I volunteer in the Church office on Fridays. I didn’t know if I should put Friday as an available day to work, since I’m assuming I shouldn’t turn down work, to which my husband says, “Isn’t that the day you work at the Church.” While I may experience different hurdles than the “average working person,” I have my own, like for example the fleas. They are my responsibility and I need to take care of them so Phil doesn’t have to when he gets home. I’m training myself to live on a budget and while my trips at Costco can be rather lengthy as I compare prices on all the laundry detergent, I’m proud of the way I can make a dollar stretch. I’m proud of the way I respect the money that my husband works hard to make. And if living on a single salary means that I can spend weekends relaxing with my husband and someday God willing be there for the first steps of our children and those moments that just need a band-aid and a kiss, then I’ll put back those jeans and I’ll shop at thrift stores and I’ll keep my volunteer time as my influence on society. But I really better do something about those fleas!


picture credit to :http://cu1turesponge.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/housewives-and-homemakers-welcome/