Some days I feel like I juggle it all very well. Some days it makes me sick to think about the days I don't seem to juggle "it" at all. In the archetypes of life, at the very beginning men were hunters and "brought home the bacon", whilst women were gatherers and took care of the home and offspring. When is America going to update this notion, because women have long since left the cave and been doing dual roles with little to no recognition. Most women I know work to balance exercise and diet (yes, I DO consider this work), a full time job, child care, home care (domestic chores) and still get treated like the lesser of the two sexes. I'm sorry, but I think most (not all) men are incapable of multitasking and quite frankly, just run out of steam when they get home from their 8 hour work day. I'm not here to argue whose 9-5 job is more stressful, rather, that a woman's day doesn't end at 5 pm.
Women's brains are always thinking about the next thing to be done and there's usually very little down time in between tasks. We literally, run ourselves ragged. Now, sure, some women self induce the "crazy" by demanding perfection while men seem more laid back about the status of their household; I'll give you that. But none the less, real or imagined, we women have very hectic lives that far exceed the "gathering" role. We gather work projects, groceries and children, meals and laundry, and well, this list could be it's own blog post but that's not my point.
So then, what is my point you ask? I suppose that as a fellow juggler, I recognize the hardship of completing the lion's share. Seriously, for those of you who don't get it, here is your pat on the back! So here's to us and cheers to us for making the "crazy" seem seamless and smooth, containing the chaos and taming the tough stuff that, in the end, we wouldn't trade for the world. Chin up and sip up!
So then, what is my point you ask? I suppose that as a fellow juggler, I recognize the hardship of completing the lion's share. Seriously, for those of you who don't get it, here is your pat on the back! So here's to us and cheers to us for making the "crazy" seem seamless and smooth, containing the chaos and taming the tough stuff that, in the end, we wouldn't trade for the world. Chin up and sip up!
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| Cheers! |
I get to stay at home and write, but I do know where you are coming from. I do drive myself nuts keeping up with the cleaning, laundry, dishes, childcare, and on and on while my husband relaxes after work. Since he's making money at what he does during the day and I don't, I don't think things are going to change. Then again, he did used to try to help with the laundry, but after the third exploding pen in the dryer, I banished him from the laundry room forever. Wasn't that clever of him?
ReplyDeleteFor the past several years I've been the stay-at-home guy while my wife works. I do most of the house cleaning and have dinner ready for her when she gets home. It's a fine arrangement though she's looking forward to when she'll be retired like me. I still be doing the cooking though--always have, even when I was working outside the home.
ReplyDeleteYou caught my attention with "Juggling". Hope you visit my post linked below which talks about juggling.
Arlee Bird
Wrote By Rote
The multi tasking powers of women are legendary but not so good for our mental health I've heard. Enjoyed your post about keeping all the balls up in the air and making the 'crazy' seamless and smooth.
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