What does Mom do, anyway?

WTJ-Make a Mess - CLEAN it up - pages 98-99 - Overview (Photo credit: atibens)

Yesterday was an awful day for my wife.

It began with something we had been dreading for a while: cleaning up the house. I am not ashamed to admit that it had been over a month since we had last done a full house sweep. Sure, we had cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms when things got bad in there, but a full house pickup and putaway was long overdue.

We, like most parents, dreaded this day not because of the work (which can be rather enjoyable in a cleansing sort of way) but because of the whining it was sure to call down upon our heads.

Sure enough, we had reason to worry. From the get-go there was a lot of bellyaching. Mom did her part valiantly, but was thwarted in her progress by messes being made behind her or by apathy from the “inmates”.

Meanwhile, Dad toiled away at his…er, desk in his…er, home office and hoped there would be some miracle that would occur that would keep his little ankle biters from driving Mom completely insane. (Really, it was a rather busy day for Dad, I promise.)

Long story short, one of the children came to Dad and said Mom was crying. Dad rushed to her side and heard the long sobs of I-have-had-it-up-to-here-and-I-cannot-do-it-all. The whining and non-participation had really pushed her to her limits and this outpouring of emotion was all she had left.

I was angry.

She was angry.

She made a list on the whiteboard. A list of all the things that she does for our five kids every second, minute, hour, day, week, and month of the year.

Here is the list:

FOOD
plan meals
grocery shopping
cooking lunch
cooking dinner

HOUSEHOLD
lots of laundry
picking up messes on the floor
paying bills
changing toilet paper
car oil changes
keeping things stocked (pet food, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc.)
balancing the checkbook
cleaning others’ messes
take out the trash
cleaning up dog poop

SCHEDULES
calendar keeping
doctor appointments
driving places
managing medications
arranging playdates
scheduling home maintenance
plan birthdays and holidays
plan vacations

TEACHING
teaching at homeschool co-op
library book tracking
helping with learning
bedtime stories
teaching and planning Sunday School
organizing field trips
planning volunteer work
Boy Scout advancements
Cub Scout advancements

PARENTING
bathing younger children
caring for the sick or hurt
working/cheering at swim meets
making daily assignments
clothes and shoes shopping (for children)
keeping the peace

What’s your list? How do you keep your sanity when nobody will help you with it?

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