Today I had to make a tough decision. Should my husband go to work nude, or would my kids go to bed without dinner?
I made my decision as I was driving home from the fruit shop with my fuel gauge on empty (my family had been without Vitamin C for three days so that took priority over filling the car with petrol). Having dropped the kids to school, attended a short play date with Toddler, done two hours work, and rushed to the shop, I had around 63 minutes before pick up time.
I had the Toddler to settle, shopping to unpack, emails to return, a stack of laundry to do, and dinner to make.
Which ones to do?
I decided that, as my husband had literally worn all of his shirts at least twice, and the next option would be to go topless to the office (which would not necessarily have a positive effect on client relations, upon which our income depends) I would do the laundry.
(And for the record, yes, I am solely responsible for doing the laundry. My husband could do it, but on the rare occasions he is not working, I would prefer him to do chores I despise even more, such as wrestling the Toddler into her bath, or playing Monopoly with our son.)
Having elected to tackle the laundry, I didn't have any time left over to cook dinner for the kids. Still, I reasoned, they could dine on fruit and veggies. Okay, so they hate most vegetables, but no doubt they're aching to get into a melon, having been deprived of natural produce for so long. And if not, well, there was always cereal.
Laundry Vs Meals is only one of the many decisions I am forced to make on a daily basis. My time alone is incredibly limited - around five and a half hours a day between drop-off and pick-up - and once I have the kids, I'm able to do approximately... well... nothing, unless it can accommodate one toddler clinging to my knee, and two older kids talking in either ear.
So each day, I must prioritise amongst my immeasurably long list of multiplying-like-a-virus tasks.
Do I change the beds, or tackle the dirty towels? Do I deal with the bills, or earn some money to pay them? Do I clean out the fridge, or buy some more food to put in it? Do I sort out my husband's parking fines, or let him go to jail for a while? Do I ensure my children are fed, bathed or clothed?
HOW CAN I POSSIBLY DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE ????????????
The answer is, I can't. So right now, I'm finishing this post, and going off to read the paper. I'm going to forget my list for a while.
Using 'a while' in the sense of three-and-a-half minutes. Before the laundry calls me back again.
What about you? Do you ever feel overloaded???
