You should try working for a living. That one single phrase stands out from my entire day to jab at me like a thick barb looming in my shoe. A day that I can only describe as a whirlwind. Let's review, shall we?
3:00 a.m. - After wrestling Ashes to bed only 3-4 hours prior I am greeted by a wide awake incarnation of said child who proceeds to eat repeatedly.
6:00 a.m. Everyone else rouses to ready themselves for school while my wife and I prepare to venture forth with Ashes for our weekly grocery trip with my Dad and Sister. This is of course after getting my other 3 children on the bus for school.
7:15 a.m. We leave for town.
10:00 a.m. After nearly 3 hours, various stops and Tetris-fu loading of groceries, we return home in time to unload our portion of food etc. In so doing, I must confess I did manage to somehow injure myself. I do not know with any certainty what I did, but I do have some discomfort in my chest now when moving certain ways, coughing, hiccups, etc. Go ahead, laugh, I readily admit the inherent humor.
Rushing, I endeavored to get all our cold stuff stowed away, which of course meant rearranging and removing some other stuff.
11:00 a.m. I Paused to try and get Ashes down for a nap, as she clearly displayed her usual hallmarks of tiredness. While I was preoccupied, Teal went down to get Bryn off the bus and feed him lunch.
12:30 p.m. Trying again to get Ashes down for a nap I am proven victorious.
1:00 p.m. My Dad and I leave to drive 30-45 minutes to go pick up my prescription and then 30-45 minutes back to get it filled and return home.
3:00 p.m. I return home setting myself to taking out the trash, doing dishes and some general clean up.
It is now 6:00 p.m., the kids are fed, and I have bathed the younger three. It seems almost surreal to only just now be opening my little netbook, only to realize this is the first real moment I have had to even reflect on anything. And yet, even now I have midgets I keep having to juggle, referee, motivate and monitor.
Don't get me wrong, I still recall the exhaustion of brutal labor and long hours. I will never begrudge any hard working soul the right to hold their head in pride for their efforts. But I can't help but shake my head at the notion that raising 4 kids, not to mention my own daily struggles means I don't do anything. I don't claim to do back-breaking work anymore, I can appreciate the difference in type of work as well. But at the end of the day, when some people only have an empty house and perhaps a few pets waiting on them; you may work for a living. However, you should try raising a family, before you judge.
Sorry, even leaving out a lot of little things, my day has been crazy. Apologies for the rant.
The internet makes it far too easy for the comments and thoughts of others to make their way to you when in the past this would be reserved for some breakfast table conversation or idle chat at a bar. Whether this is a good thing or not is anyone's guess - for now it just means that we have a lot of stupidity going around that we can actually see an experience versus before.
ReplyDeleteGiven that, I've found it helpful to not let internet-based comments get to me too much. Heck, the opinions of others in general don't matter all that much to me. The only opinions that do matter are those of close family and friends. Outside of that, keep lots and lots of salt handy.
I salute your continued efforts to write despite the demands of raising a family as large (and often wild, hehe) as your own. Keep at it buddy! Your life is far more fulfilling than most.
Sadly the comment originated from a friend I have known my whole life after he did laps around my yard on a dirt bike. He just rode up, revved his way around my house and shouted my last name at my back yard 'till I came out. He asked if I had been busy today and when I claimed that I had his only response was disbelief until I informed him that I had only just returned home and was still busy. I am fairly sure he was high or drunk anyways so I'll shrug it off and go on. The comment just made me stop and reflect on just how busy of a day I have had.
ReplyDeleteAnd miles still to go before I sleep...
I was a tad worried it was a real-life encounter. If anything, the internet helps us steel ourselves for situations like this.
ReplyDeleteSadly, knowing someone for most of your life not longer seems to automatically qualify for being a good friend.
Hugs my friend.
And let us just LOL at my CAPCHA for this comment - abutedia (WTF?)
Gratitude for the kind words boyo, they're much appreciated.
ReplyDelete