Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘Stay At Home Mom’

By Toni

Being a stay-at-home mom, so often I hear from other mom’s that the number one challenge they face isn’t how to get out their budding Van Gogh’s “art work” off of the sofa or what the secret is to getting your cheesecake not to crack on top. The number one challenge I hear from stay-at-home mom’s is time management.

For those of you who are employed full-time, you may find it hard to believe that this even a possibility. What can we stay-at-home moms be doing all day to take up so much time that we can’t keep our schedules straight? I can only speak for myself, but between the housework, the cooking, the homeschooling, the errands, and the never-ending pile of laundry my days are a hectic blur of nonstop craziness. Add on to that my husband’s schedule and my kid’s.. well, you get the idea.

I am fortunate enough to have in my possession a Second Edition (Fourth Printing) of the “Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book” that is in mint condition. It is from the year 1956, when women didn’t have the luxury of such things as washing machines and dish washers. In it, I found a page titled “Special Helps” with all sorts of fun tidbits to help the modern woman of the fifties make her day run more smoothly. I thought if they worked for the ladies of the fifties, whose to say it wouldn’t work for the modern woman of today? The gems I found are such as:

• Harbor pleasant thoughts while working.  It will make every task lighter and pleasanter.
• Notice humorous and interesting incidences to relate at dinnertime when family is together.
• Eat proper food for health and vitality. Every morning before breakfast, comb hair, apply makeup, a dash of cologne, and perhaps some simple earrings. Does wonders for your morale.
• Do  head work while dusting, sweeping, washing dishes, paring potatoes, etc. Plan family recreation, the garden, etc.
• If you feel tired, lie down  on the floor on your back, put your hands above your head, close your eyes, and relax for three to five minutes.

Yes, the ladies of the fifties, certainly had a much fuller plate than the modern stay-at-home mother of today.  I am willing to bet that even for our grandmothers, time management was a challenge. Especially while lying on the floor, thinking pleasant thoughts.

So the next time you are at your son’s soccer game, and your cell phone’s SIM card erases your entire yearly family schedule, right as your husband calls to say that he has to fly out of town to work for the next week, the very minute your daughter breaks her Nintendo DS  in two – take a tip from your grandmother. Stop, drop, and just breathe, honey.

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Toni is a full time stay-at- home mom, a wanna-be (but not too shabby) vegetarian cook, a sometimes not-so-bad photographer, and all around sweet heart. You can find her musings over at Hemp and High Heels.