Monday, April 9, 2007

Time and Balance

Don't tell on me - I just didn't have time to do an update last night, and this morning I hit the ground running, so while I have an unassigned moment - I'll take advantage of it.

So, here is my question for the day. Does time move differently for men than for women? Sunday T was at work - left bright and early so he could start his day at 6:00AM. As you know from the previous post - my day may not have started as early, but let's just say it was probably messier.

In order to understand the question, you might need some background data. T has been working part-time, just went back to full-time last week. When he does work, he usually works 1 weekend day/night, 1 week night, and while the kids are in school on other days. Starting next month he'll work Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for 12 hours each day, then 4 more hours on Wednesday. If you remember your basic math skills - that shows that there is most of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday left. Assuming there is a need for sleep - let's go with the standard 8 hours (in my life - that's a little generous - but we'll go with it). So tell me - where the hell does the rest of the time go?

This is the reason for the question. In addition to what will heretofore be known as the Poop Explosion of 2007, this is what I did yesterday. (Remember, I had the kids with me all day!). I ran 5 loads of laundry, planned the meals for the week, did the grocery shopping for the week, made dinner (roasted turkey, potatoes, peas, and fresh-baked rolls), fed the children breakfast, lunch and two snacks, went house hunting for my parents, put away 5 loads of laundry (oops, 4 - one's still in the dryer), supervised and assisted the kids in picking up their rooms, cleaned the living room, vacuumed the floors, played games (my son loves Yahtzee), dressed and groomed children, cleaned up remnants of Easter baskets (that I had put together the night before), cleaned up dinner prep, supervised and assisted in homework completion, read to one child, was read to by the other, packed up the backpack for child's school day, made four pairs of earrings and a bracelet (for swaps), researched and answered questions about all Arizona sports teams, cleared, cleaned and set the table, served dinner, did some of the dishes after dinner (left some for T to do), and put children to bed.

So, again, the question - does time move differently for men than for women? When T is home with (or without) the kids - I think the dogs get fed. I don't mean to lump myself in with all women and use T has a yardstick for measuring all men. I just don't have any other fathers to compare against (except mine, of course, and he never lifted a finger unless he had to until recently).

Maybe it's a matter of balance - now I have read that women do have a better sense of balance then men do - so maybe that's it. My children got attention, got playtime, got mommy-time, but I still was able to get a lot of other things done. I think when T is with the kids he's balancing what *he* wants to do with playtime with the kids - leaving all the other stuff for "later" only "later" never seems to come. At least, not until I can't handle it anymore and get to it - and have a day like yesterday.

1 comment:

Chickenbells said...

Yeah...I can relate to that one. My ex used to "do" the dishes (and take out the trash) those were his BIG chores (I had to leave the room during both because I know I could've done them in half the time)...oh, and he did his work laundry. I'll say he'd do things if I left him a list. Hmmm. a list. Like, here's one for you...

open. your. eyes. and. look. around. at. what. needs. to. be. done. and. then. do. it.

And we didn't even have kids. Probalby a good thing (although, now I'm managing to panic about that one too...am I running out of time?) It was lovely to wave to you this weekend too..although, I would enjoy some face time with you soon...you know, when you um, have a spare minute...