I'm a SAHM. All the working mothers I know ask me how I do it. How do I get everyone where they need to be, cook dinner, bake cupcakes for their class on their birthday, plan and excute class parties, coach cheerleading, and the laundry list of other things I'm supposed to do. They think I'm Supermom. The truth is I'm not. My husband often comes home to a slightly (sometimes disasterously) messy house, dinner not even yet thought of, and me still in my pajamas. He then dares to ask the question, "What is it you do all day long?" Most of the time I can't even remember. I know I've done a lot, but I just can't quite recall all the messy details. Take today for example. I woke up exhausted, the car wouldn't start (which I figured out was just a loose battery cable, kudos to me), and I barely got the kids to school on time. When I got home I thought I would now have the chance to relax a moment while Madison watched a movie and Sara took her morning nap. Then it happens. I'm pouring myself a glass of chocolate milk and I notice on the refigerator the note I posted two weeks ago that I have a meeting at the school with Julia's speech therapist. It's at 9:10. It is now 8:30. I am still in my pajamas. So I gulp down my milk, throw on some clothes and brush my teeth. I then put on some perfume in the hopes that they won't notice that I haven't yet had a shower. I change Sara's diaper and clothes, grab Madison, and race out the door. We get there at 9:13. The meeting only lasts 10 min. Julia "graduates" from speech therapy. She's cured. Now that I'm dressed I figure I might as well run to Wal-Mart (the SAHM mecca) to get the salt and sugar we need. (We need these things because Madison made the excutive decision we did not and dumped both said things on the floor.) So we get our salt and sugar (and several other things we probably didn't need, but hey it's Wally World) and then go back home and unload. Then I decide we should go eat lunch with Lauren and Julia at school. So we do. Afterwards, we come back home and I try to clean up some while Madison plays and Sara naps. Then it's 3pm. Time to get the girls from school. At this point my day is, for all intents and purposes, over. Now it is time for snack, homework, baths, and bed. (My kids go to bed at 7:30. I know I'm an evil mother.) My husband will be home soon, take a look around and ask "The Question." One day I think I'll make him stay home alone with them all day. Then again, we both know he wouldn't survive. I think the next time he asks this question I will simply tell him, "I solved world peace.," and leave it at that.
To all of you SAHM's who survive on little sleep and do all the thigns necessary to keep your family on track I salute you. Now go take a Unisom, go to sleep, and pray everything is still okay when you wake up.