Posted by: Alex
Every time I think that I couldn’t fit anything more into my life, I find that I can. But at what cost?
Part and parcel with being deployed to down town Joburg comes traffic. Lots of it. My new location adds roughly an hour to my travel time daily. Okay so half of that is stolen from sleep time, but the other half is taken from my son. And probably more than just that because I no longer am as able to run errands in my lunch break. I am also often annoyed and exhausted once I finally do make it to him.
I say that I wouldn’t give up my job even if I could afford to, but truth is that you can’t really evaluate that properly until you are in that situation. If I gave up my horses and the expenses that came with them I could probably give up my job, but then who would I be?
I’d be a clean slate waiting for a fresh start, but I would also be wiped clean of major contributions to who I am.
Hmmm, something to think about on this Sunday evening.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:27 am
I’d like to shed a little light on the SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) thing for you, because it’s not all that.
The pros: I get a lot of cuddle time with our son. We are extremely close and get to do a lot of cool stuff together all week. I have help (3 hours of preschool a day and a once a week cleaner) and I get to do little projects with our rental properties so that I can feel useful and so that my brain won’t die from elmo overload.
Cons: I am treated like a slave. I cook every single meal, I clean up after everything that ever happens all day long, I do all the laundry, and I fix everything around the house. I never have time to work out, and if I am granted this free time on the weekend, I am supposed to be super grateful or indebted or something.
I look like a frump, I wear jeans and a t-shirt every single day of my life. I haven’t purchased make-up since my son was born. I laugh whenever my husband asks me if I have anything for the dry-cleaners.
There are days when I am so consumed with my son that I don’t brush my teeth until he naps.
It is really hard to live for someone else, and that is what you have to do when you stay at home. Also, your husband will want you to do everything for him, because you will have all of this “free time” (and you won’t, by the way, you won’t have any free time).
All that being said, I wouldn’t entertain a job offer right now, even if it paid really really well.
My husband travels so much and has too many things going on for me to have a full time job right now. I need to be the stable one at home everyday for both of them for our family to run smoothly.
I’ll go back to work again someday, whenever that is : )
Yes, it is awful sometimes, and I do cry and scream about feeling like a slave, but really, we live a nice life and I like being at home. I don’t buy a lot of new stuff and I laugh at my closet when we have to get dressed up for anything, but those things don’t really come up that often, and it really doesn’t matter to me anymore.
I’m sorry your new commute is so hard. poor thing.