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I’m always busy, always. And I will freely admit there have been times when I’ve been too busy and I fumbled a few things. The past two years in particular have been rather difficult. In part, it’s due to my kids going to a new school, and in part, it’s due to my increasing involvement in Girl Scouts. But really, it’s mainly due to the fact that I’ve slowly let my work hours get eaten away by non-work related activities.
The Hubster realized this before I did. I was complaining to him last week that I just didn’t have enough hours in the day, and changes to next year’s school schedule were pretty much going to kill my work schedule. He pointed out that from 8AM to 2:30PM, the kids would still be in school and he’d be at work, just like they are now. Those hours ought to give me plenty of time for me to sit down at my desk to work as well. Problem is, I don’t spend that much time at my desk. Why?
Well, for starters there’s exercise. I go to the Y two mornings a week, and then at least once a week I go to the dojo for karate class. And when I’m not at those places, I go for a run or ride the bike. Exercise usually takes an hour out of my work day, and getting ready beforehand and cleaning up afterward takes another hour. Plus I do try to get a load or two of laundry washed and folded every day, and I like to clean up the kitchen, and the floor needs to be swept, and by then it’s lunch time, and of course I ought to read the news…
You see where this is going, right? All these non-work related things are eating away at my precious work hours, keeping me away from my desk. Yes I need to exercise, and yes I need to clean the house and stay on top of the laundry.
But do I really need to do it between 8AM and 2:30PM?
I’m hoping the answer is ‘no.’ I’m hoping that I can find some other time during the day to do those things, and still get them done. For example, there’s a 6AM deep water aerobics class at the Y that I could go to on Monday and Friday, instead of my usual 8AM. Yeah, it means getting up at 5:15AM, and it also means that the Hubster is on his own those mornings, getting the kids up and out of bed. But you know what? That’s okay. Hubster says he doesn’t have a problem getting the girls up and moving and fed and out the door, and I can actually drag myself out of bed at the butt-crack of dawn if I set my alarm. And let’s be honest, a dip in a cold pool will wake me up just as well as a cup of hot coffee, won’t it?
As for the laundry and house cleaning… Well, it’s time the kids started earning an allowance anyway. Princess can fold laundry, not perfectly, but she can do it. Pixie can help sort it, and she can also pick up around the house. Both girls know how to clean a toilet, and Princess can wash dishes while Pixie feeds the cats. I would still be doing a lot of chores myself, but with two helpers in tow, I’d hopefully get the house clean and teach the girls a few things about responsibility in the process.
What’s really funny about all this is that I already knew what I needed to do to steal back my schedule. I just didn’t know what I needed to do until the Hubster said it out loud for me. So here’s hoping he and I are both right. We’ll see. I’ve got a couple of weeks to try it before the girls are out of school for the summer. Then I’ll have to come up with a new plan to keep all those eggs in the air for summer. But I’ll think of something, I’m sure. And if I don’t, Hubster will. Or we’ll just eat a whole lot of eggs. Who knows!
Some things never change.
