Saturday, August 8, 2015

Working mums: we have more time than we think?

Today I read a headline entitled "Working mums: you have more time than you think". Really? I thought, all ready have the red mist descend and to fly into an indignant strop. The heading itself practically had me reaching for a pitchfork and torch even before I had read a word of the article.

It certainly doesn't feel like I have much free time at all, so the last thing I want to read is that the feeling of always being busy is due to my poor planning. Work is busy, parenting is busy, and I have entire weeks when I feel like I don't have any time to do anything for myself. Work's not suffering, and my kids aren't suffering.  When I'm busy, though, it's as if those two things take up all of my time leaving me nothing left for myself. It's hard. Exercise, going to the doctor for non-essential appointments, getting haircuts, eating well - that's what gets thrown by the wayside. I already do all of the things that internet forums, online listicles and my friends tell me I should do to make things easier: I cook in advance, my husband pulls his weight, I write lists, I have a slow-cooker, I write more lists, I do online shopping, and some evenings all we eat is tinned soup and toast. But, I'm still busy. And when I'm not busy anymore and the kids are in bed and I don't have work to do, my brain is instantly transformed into a pumpkin-like mush, and all I want to do is vegetate while grunting single-syllable words, preferably while watching television through glazed-over eyes. The last thing I feel like doing is anything useful. I think that if I spent that glorious brain-pumpkin-mush time doing useful things, I'd get so tightly would up, I'd snap. Or get sick.  Or get behind on my essential TV viewing.  I didn't want to read an article that told me otherwise.

Further reading showed that the article is about a book, which I suppose I should actually read before assuming that the ideas contained within will send me into a rage. In fact, the book, I know how she does it, actually looks quite interesting. Before reading it, though, I had a quick brainstorm about this extra time that I may actually be wasting (apart from my invaluable brain-pumpkin-mush time), and all I could think of was the time I spend asleep. What a waste of time that is! Maybe being a vampire would help? The weather's been so bad recently the whole not being in daylight thing may not even be an issue if I were to turn into the un-dead. Although, now I think about it, becoming a vampire is a tricky business. Plus, all of that fighting with werewolves would become tiresome, and potentially take up even more time. Maybe the sleep will have to stay, and I'll have to actually read this book to get tips. Watch this space, then, I suppose ... 

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