Thursday 2 June 2011

A Woman's Work is Never Done

I understand that now. Now that I have a baby. It would be impossible to count the number of times I have to put down what I've started, as Megan unexpectedly wakes up after a shorter than usual nap, or when she suddenly misses me in the other room. The house is full of unfinished jobs. Piles of dirty laundry, yet to be washed. Baskets of clean laundry, yet to be hung on the line. Dirty dishes; an overflowing compost caddy; squashed strawberries on the floor under Meg's highchair; clothes waiting to be photographed and put on eBay. Upstairs there is further chaos. Papers strewn across the floor in the bedroom, waiting to be filed. Toys littering the landing. Nappies and nappy inserts, jumbled in a heap. A random pair of green overalls.

Outside, there are jobs which will never truly be completed. The cardboard amassing in the pole barn must be torn up and layered with the grass cuttings in the compost bin. I am trying to get it done before more boxes are added to the stack, but who am I kidding? It's like trying to race the sun. My (slightly OCD) need for a ticked box, and a task fulfilled is being somewhat challenged. I am trying to roll with it, trying to learn a freedom and flexibility. It's not easy, but I am enjoying the slow process of giving up what appears to be a very linear mindset.

Today I re-cut the edges of one of last year's vegetable beds, took out the grass roots which had been threatening to engulf the soil in a sea of green and then planted out the beetroot seedlings. Even without digging over the bed (I took out what few weeds there were), it was still quite hard work. Another thing to have to do every year, to every bed (we looked into making raised beds, but so far it seems too expensive at about £30 per bed. We'll have to try to source much cheaper wood than we had in mind).

Our lawn is a jungle, with long grass more than a foot tall. I almost lost Meggie in the grass today (not really, I just said that for effect).





Nine months old, and almost ready to play at getting lost in the foliage.

A woman's work is never done. I looked it up here.
It says: Prov. Housework and raising children are jobs that have no end.

I think I need to work on acquiring a love for things which never end. Things which are half finished. Things which are on-going. Things which do not tick the boxes.

6 comments:

  1. That first paragraph, word-for-word, describes my house.

    Jacob had that same vest that Meg is wearing (it was one of my favourites).

    Are we the same person??

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  2. ah, i love these pics of the Megatron - so cute! well, i went though a values exercise in a coaching program last year and it turns out that one of the most important things to me is also 'achievement' which means ticking boxes and getting things off the list so i can get loads done for you when i come to stay in just a few weeks time (when i'm not playing with you and the Megster of course) xxx

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  3. Beth, ha ha, you always make me laugh. :D I'm waiting for you to come and pick up your green overalls, damn it!

    Carole, oooh, can't wait for your visit, though I'm not sure I'll happily send you off with a list of jobs to do... although maybe... maybe we could do a spring clean, ha ha ha. x

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  4. It doesn't stay like that, you know :) I'm starting to get very organised now, and if I could just get rid of my other half, keeping the place tidy would be entirely possible! Honestly, it's the hardest when they're as little as Megan, and they do still need you all the time. But my boys are now 3, 5 and 7, and they hardly need me at all - it's quite sad, and I'm already starting to feel the beginnings of Empty Nest Syndrome! :oS When they start retreating to their bedrooms (won't happen if I've got anything to do with it!), then I'll be completely redundant, but I'll have a tidy house - I think I'd rather have it a complete tip...

    Yes, best develop a love for ouroboros mess! At least for now.

    Linda.

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  5. Yup. And yet I can't believe I get wistful and sad when I see other people having second babies! Acquiring a love for things that never end and don't tick boxes. Yup yup and yup. So...how do we do that?

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  6. Damn, I never replied to you two, Linda and Tammy. Must be another of those loose ends I find myself chasing around the house, like the memory of a dream.

    Thanks for the tip that it gets easier, Linda, hopefully that'll make it less frustrating, knowing that there *is* a light towards the end of the never ending tunnel... :D

    Tammy, how do we do it? - I have absolutely no idea... Maybe put it on a to do list? Offer the incentive of a tick as a reward? Ha ha. Are you still working on Jake V2? You don't have to answer that :D x

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