Women's Work

“A man may work from dusk to dawn, but a woman’s work is never done”

Peace.

This weekend I noticed something that had never occurred to me before..... I don't enjoy my downtime.

Weekends are a working person's reward for having survived the weekend. At my job we only work 4 days a week. Not long 10 hour days either. A regular 9 hour day but 4 days a week. My weekends are always 3 days. Just because I have an extra day, doesn't mean a thing. I've been at this job 11 years and it's always been like that. There is nothing special or wonderful about it. And if you've been paying attention.... You will notice that I said we don't work 10 hours that we are getting paid for. So.... You folks working 5 day weeks make more than I do.

This weekend the 7 decided to stay home on Friday, I watched him all weekend out of morbid curiosity. He spent the weekend enjoying life. Doing all the things he likes... resting, gaming, sports, etc. I, on the other hand, spent the weekend cleaning house and cooking. I don't enjoy that shit. But I like having a tidy house and caring for my family. Now normally the 7 vacuums.... long story. I asked him to vacuum and he told me, “I couldn't possibly do that until Monday. I'm in the middle of something” with his game. And then it hit me. I need to make more of an effort to enjoy myself on my downtime.

My home is not crazy big. Maybe 2000 square feet? In that area we have a lot of stuff. Our previous home was twice the size. We got rid of a lot but we still brought a lot. The 7 is a self admitted packrat. I've gotten our home to the place where we are comfortable. Not comfortable enough to entertain, (I can't wrap my head around the smallness even after 3 years), but comfortable enough for us to live. We use all the rooms... unlike the other house. So all the rooms need to be cleaned frequently. And housework is not something the 7 does. Why? No clue because I ask. When he comes home from work he gets comfortable and sits down. When I get home, I cook dinner, clean the kitchen (he makes his own breakfast and lunch and doesn't clean up behind himself) and do whatever lingering housework remains. And even though we have no children, I still dust daily and sweep and mop biweekly. I've never seen him pick up anything to clean in the house. He does outside work and car maintenance. And even then he balks.

Now I do have hobbies. I sew, read.... and that's kind of it right now. I used to dance, but I gave that up when I started cohabitating with the 7. I run... but I don't consider that a hobby, because I don't like it. I exercise because it's good for me. I like to hang out and shop, but I have precious few friends who can do that these days. As I've gotten older, my friends have gotten older too and family responsibilities often prevent them from spending money leisurely. But even shopping gets frustrating because I don't want to drive all over the place. So.....

The question remains, what can I do for fun???? I really don't know.


Peace

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