Things I Don't Do
The Happiest Mom recently wrote a fantastic post on the things she doesn't do as a mom. Blogs and social media are both wonderful inventions that give us an outlet and sense of community. We can log on and share all the things we are doing. Unfortunately, sometimes that translates into pressure to DO even more.
In the spirit of "everyone take a deep breath and calm the hell down," I'm going to share a list of what I do NOT do. (I do love lists as we know.)
Things I don't do (and don't care to do):
1. Clean my floors. Sounds gross. I know. But hear me out. My kitchen floor is right off my garage so it sees a lot of traffic. My husband cooks every night so it also sees a lot of grease and grime. Last week, we literally got down on our hands and knees and scrubbed it with OxiClean. Two days later, the bottoms of my feet were black again after walking on it. I've been at war with this floor for two years and I'm ready to admit defeat.
How hard could it be!?! Image via balancedlivinginc.com
2. Garden. I want to have a gorgeous landscaped yard. I want to compost and have my own vegetable garden. However, I have accepted the reality that it is just not going to happen. I have two small children. Hello! I can barely take care of the inside of my house! (See #1.) There is a reason retirees have the best lawns. It's because they are the only ones with time to tend to them.
3. Play with my kids. Again, sounds terrible but hear me out. I don't really like trains or cars or blocks. Plus, Griffin doesn't really want me to play with him. Whenever I have grand designs of an afternoon of play time, he always wants me to just sit there and watch him play. I've found the really special moments are when we are just spending time together and stumble across something we both enjoy doing...like dancing or watching Teen Mom. Just kidding!
Sort of...
4. Scrapbook. I love memory keeping. I love pictures. I love journaling. But when it comes to traditional scrapbooking, I'll pass. My children don't have beautiful books chronicling their first years. Instead, I use sites like Moment Garden and projects like A Week in the Life to capture all those special memories without a fortune spent on stickers and die cuts.
5. Cook. My husband cooks. Enough said.
Things I don't do but would like to:
I think I might still be traumatized by my first attempt in 7th Grade.
1. Sew. My mother and grandmother are master seamstresses. I own a high quality sewing machine, which my grandmother fixed up for me. Yet, I still can't get my act together. I'm so crafty in other ways. I knit. I crochet. I think if I really knew how to sew I would be unstoppable.
2. Bike. I see people biking around town and it looks so fun and relaxing. Alas, I have no bicycle, which seems pretty essential.
3. Camp. I am married to a dang Eagle Scout! Doesn't it seem like I should be camping every weekend? Well, apparently, Eagle Scouts are camping snobs. According to Nicholas, it's not "camping" unless you hike for miles into the middle of nowhere with pounds of gear on you back. Call me crazy but that doesn't quite seem feasible with a two-year-old.
4. Date Night. I'd say we average one date night a month. With all the free babysitting available to us, that's a disgrace.
5. Volunteering. I want my boys to grow up doing for those less fortunate than themselves. I have big plans to volunteer at local charities (especially around the holidays) but I can't quite get my act together. I do better when I'm part of a volunteer organization. Luckily, I just joined our local Charity League so hopefully I can make this a thing I DO do soon.
What's on y'all's Don't Do lists? Things you wish you did? Things you're glad you don't?
~ Sarah Stewart Holland
7 Comments
Reader Comments (7)
Eerily similar to yours, actually :o) We don't live in filth by any stretch of the imagination, but I am not one to scrub my floors on a regular basis. Same goes with dusting all the bookshelves. I'll do arts and crafts with the girls, but I don't really like to actually "play" dolls with them. I've attempted some light gardening and it hasn't gone well because I DON'T HAVE THE TIME! This kills me because I always grew up with fresh garden veggies. I would also like to girls to gain some volunteer experience. We've started attending a very liberal and progressive UU church in Lexington. They are VERY involved with various causes and charities so I'm hoping we will all get more involved as a family once we settle in :o) Great post! It's always nice to hear the truth from other moms.
I have my Gold Award, the Girl Scout equivalent of an Eagle Scout, and I only camp if there is a cabin with indoor plumbing and electricity involved. I love cooking fancy stuff over a campfire, but I don't do what your husband calls camping. I also only do limited gardening and my kitchen floor is lucky to get a quick dust buster zap every once in awhile (black feet don't bother me so much as stepping on mystery crumbs or attracting ants). And I don't even have kids yet...we'll see how much that don't list has expanded in a few years (I figure if I continue to work post-children, I will have to treat myself to a maid because I'm a nut about needing a clean bathroom and keeping all the pet fur cleaned up around the house).
Since I started blogging, I don't do dishes anymore! My husband does them now. :) Sounds like you should camp like we do. As in: RV Camp. It's awesome!
I read Happiest Mom's post too and loved it. I'm with you on cleaning the floors (it's disgusting how bad our tile is), camping, biking, and date nights. Shameful but true. I also despise going to the park with my kid. I hate putting on sunscreen and getting full of sand. I much prefer indoor activities.
You can sew I promise! If I can do it, hell--anyone can!
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