Housewife Moment

I’m having a housewife moment today.

You know, one of those days where you feel like nothing you do is very important and everyone around you seems to be acting like you eat bon bons all day and watch soap operas?

I am not the most efficient at my housewife job. I leave dishes in the dish rack, sometimes for a whole day. Hard to tell, of course, because there is yet another meal being cooked, more dishes washed… I don’t always find all the socks on the floor. I don’t actually think I see them anymore until they’ve reached a critical mass. The pile of shoes in the back room is a continual effort- I tell the boys to straighten the mess up and three seconds later, boom. Big mess again.

At least they take their shoes off when they come in the house. That is a BIG deal during mud season.

I have construction going on in my house. Nothing like a friend of mine is going through, so I feel like a baby. She won’t have a kitchen for two months. Only my office is torn apart.

Not that I do anything in that office except chow those bon bons.

My office historically has been the one clean zone in the house. It is my haven. I love Jeanine but she is a messy person. She simply does not see clutter. Or sees it and doesn’t care. She felt bad for me this morning, as I sat in tears explaining I had no idea where half the bills in the house are and if I’ve paid them or not. The stupid survey still isn’t done and I don’t know what to do about it and without it my office is at a stand still; walls ripped open waiting for some idiot’s signature on a permit that says, yup, they ripped the walls open. I have a budget to review for tomorrow, a meeting to chair, and I’ve had a headache since last Thursday.

I don’t do well in chaos. Well, I seem to do very well in emotional chaos, but not physical chaos.

In her attempt to be helpful, Jeanine put away the laundry that was sorted and folded on our bed. Problem is, she left her clothes from last night on the floor, stepping over them several times in putting away the clean clothes.

It was a sweet attempt.

Last night, Walter made a joking comment about the lovely trash can decoration- it had been brought in for the party Saturday night, emptied yesterday for trash day and was still sitting by the stairs, waiting to be returned to the basement.

I’d been carrying too much laundry up and down the stairs to grab it, too. I know. Lazy. I should have made that 121st trek without complaint.

I could have smacked him. It was like asking me about sconces for the living room an hour before Ben’s birthday party on Saturday. I had a few other things on my mind.

Like… how will Ben do with his friends? Will he be okay? Is he being himself? Will Jake get miserable and need to cause trouble during the party? How can I keep him occupied? What about Zachary? He’s felt sooo kicked to the curb with Ben’s new life in middle school, will he just quietly sit in the corner and be sad? Did I ask Ben to tell the kids we have a dog? Will there be any allergies? Shit, we have peanut butter candy… do I worry about that or not? Will parents come in or just drop their kids off outside? Can I calmly accept a giant beverage being spilled on my leather couch? Wait… the rug in the back room really needs cleaning. Where do I take that? Shit, I haven’t called anyone about doing the windows and gutters… did anyone walk the dog today or is she going to be jumping on people?

All in about thirty seconds. Sconces? You gotta be kidding me.

I want my house in order, the work to be done and my head to stop pounding. I want the laundry to magically disappear, the boys rooms be clean, and someone to cook me dinner.

I don’t want sconces.

I know. It’s just a housewife moment. It’ll pass. In the meantime, I have to get the air conditioners out of the windows, go to the grocery store and stop at the dry cleaners, bank, and post office.

“Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

Lao Tzu


I’m guessing he had a wife…