Suzy Homemaker

For someone who spent the last several years pretty much always on the go, it's a real surprise to discover the joys of being a homemaker. I never thought I would know what to do with myself when faced with weeks of absolute freedom, but so far it's all been amazingly good. On Monday, when everyone left for work and school, I had a brief moment of panic (what do you mean there's nowhere that I have to be right now?!), but once I realized this freedom meant I could go wherever I wanted to, and I ended up going to the mall with a neighbor, I quickly realized the joys of all this sudden freedom. So I think I've managed to find my niche pretty well. I don’t know if it will last for all three months, but so far, so good.

As usually, it's the silliest things that make me happy. Whenever I leave for work, I always worry about the million and one things that could go wrong during my absence (yes, I am the worrywart who unplugs the coffeemaker before she leaves, and double-checks the doors are locked), so it’s nice to be inside the house and find that it’s just peaceful and quiet during the day, with nothing untoward going on; no dancing furniture or poker-playing guinea pig. :)

Another thing is the fact that I now know what the house looks like at 7am on a Tuesday morning for instance. Around that time, when the sun hits the blinds in our kitchen window, the early sunlight makes the most beautiful patterns on the wall behind the stove. It's equally nice to see the afternoon sun light up the living room (and then take a nap in it on the couch – I highly recommend it).
Another little joy is the ability to sit in a quiet house with no kids, no husband, nothing that has to be done. I’m planning on finally watching some of those movies that none of them will ever watch with me, such as the behind the scenes documentary of The Sound of Music behind the scenes – a classic, albeit not according to my three male family members. I also finally get to watch the shows like American’s Next Top Model, and the DVD set of the Gilmore Girls, which especially husband-dear despises (even though he gave it to me for Christmas, I suppose that’s true love).

Now, I never thought I would be one of those moms who would drive up to school in her boxers and a t-shirt, but honestly, I’m loving it. I really enjoy that I now have the time to drive the boys to school. I love hearing stories about their friends, or answering questions about my stick-shift. Next year they won’t be in the same school anymore (for two years anyway), so I’m truly savoring this time. At the same time, I am now also home to hear their complaints about school at the end of the day, which is possibly a little less amusing. And suddenly I do find myself put in charge of thinking up an idea for a “grammar mobile”, a daunting undertaking to say the least, but again, it’s something I have barely had a chance to do this year, and thus very valuable.

The fact that I am now in charge of all the chores is a little less joyous, for sure. Today, for instance, I have to go grocery shopping. Yay. Usually hubby takes care of this (since, surprise, surprise, I’m at work), and even though I made a fairly complete list, I just know that I’m going to come home with the wrong brand of something, and make someone very unhappy; "Dad never buys this....". But I guess that is all part of earning my homemaker-stripes.

All in all, I think it’s the balance that these three months provide that makes me happy. It’s because I know that all of this will end, that I am enjoying it so very much.