I was just about to have a Sunday afternoon nap. It was the perfect opportunity, Mr. 3 was finally down for a sleep and Miss 6 was set up with a movie in the lounge room. Except I started doing what I often do – checking/justifying if I could indeed give myself a break or if I needed to be using this snatch of time for a more useful purpose.
There was indeed plenty I could be doing housework wise but… it is the weekend so well you know. Then I also knew there was study I could be doing… but again, come on it’s a sunday afternoon. Next I started looking at my week ahead – in town all day tomorrow so really only Tuesday morning for housework, hmmm that’s not a lot of time, enough maybe to keep on top of it but not to get ahead and I am really keen to get my bedroom and study presentable-ish.
I’ve had a good couple weeks of taking things a bit easy, recovering from end of semester, then surviving the school holidays plus I’ve started reading a 7+ book series! Then I started thinking about a possible blog post idea and here I am out of bed typing away.
This is I believe my hardest stay-a-home struggle, justifying how I spend my time. I’m not much of a cook or housekeeper so I don’t claim that’s what takes up my time. I do a little bit of volunteer work but nothing that should be too time-consuming and of course I do work 1-2 days a week but I also spend a lot of time reading or face-booking. And mothering, we all know that’s a hard gig but I’d be lying if I tried to say there was no down-time. It’s unpredictable so you can’t plan for those moments of peace and you never know how long they’ll last but they do exist, indeed I’m hoping I’ve got about 2hours worth up my sleeve right now.
Then I start to feel guilt, I know Hubby doesn’t get these snatches of time during his work day (although he does get sleep ins and lunch breaks!) to do whatever he wants. And here I am out of bed instead of resting my truly weary eyes.
I will go back to bed now, I’m pretty sure I’ll get some time a bit later to hang the washing up, cook tea, maybe organise my study folders and most importantly read??
How do you spend your free-time? Do you get the guilts?
geejenmotw 
Do you think maybe we think too much in check lists? Instead of letting things just have more of an organic flow and accepting it all as a part of life. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Facebook surely does not help in this department…I mean…the comparisons made etc. Not being a mother myself, I admire anyone who is one, and deals with everything that comes with it. Anything else you have the time and energy to do on top of that just amazes me 🙂
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mmm maybe yes, I could be more satisfied with what I am doing if I didn’t see others seemingly achieving so much more! But I do so love my checklists! I tend to compare myself to women from the ‘olden’ days so give myself freedom for time out as those ladies would have been busy all day just washing but thanks to technology I am able to do it in a few hours. But at the same time work was just part of their lives they had to do it all and they just did, they didn’t question choices
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I never thought retirement would be this busy. Not having a schedule (be at work by 8:30, etc.) makes me flexible, but then there’s the illusion that I have a lot more time than I really do. At the end of the day I can usually look back and realize what I’ve accomplished, but it’s not always something I set out to do. Some days when I think I’m going to have a chunk of “free time,” there’s frequently a “divine appointment” that ends up being the most important event of the day. As disorganized as my day seems, I love letting God have His way when I allow Him the time to do it.
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This is so relatable!!
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