Time Well Spent

Time …sometimes it feels like this elusive novelty that I once had control over.  Now I am continually consumed by the every detail of being a mother.  I am not quite sure how the day can fly by so quickly with all
the necessary requirements mostly accomplished, yet, as I reflect on the events of the day I wonder to myself what it was that consumed all my time. How can I be busy all day and not even have a clean house to show for it?  I have a couple of theories as to why this phenomenon occurs.

            The first is that even though I would consider myself efficient in managing my time and accomplishing chores, it some how takes me three times as long to accomplish any task.  Between a crying baby, a potty training emergency, feeding them, cleaning them, changing them a simple task of folding laundry or cooking dinner turns into hours of effort.  Sometimes I think it is a miracle that any of the chores get done.  With all the urgent distractions, every minute seems to be eaten up.  It is a rare occurrence that there is any downtime.  I count myself lucky if in the daytime I am able to watch just five minutes of a show, snuggled up with my husband while the baby takes one of her catnaps and the toddler is conductively distracted by a toy.  I am even luckier if I get to eat my entire dinner while it is still warm.  I cannot count how many times I usually reheat my meal…not to mention how many times it has been forgotten in the microwave…ahh.

            Another reason I am convinced sucks up the hours in my day is the fact that my very busy two-year-old does not nap.  There is no afternoon reprieve in my house from the daunting energy of little feet.  No…he goes and goes and goes and goes.  It is possible he might consent to taking a nap…but at like 3:30 and there is no way that is going to happen!  We all know what the result of that would be.  I am pretty sure he needs less sleep than me which is crazy because he exerts so much energy in the day.  So a lot of my time seems to be spent chasing and monitoring my little guy.  Even though our house is baby proof, I can’t seem to make it invention and discovery proof.  I always have to be on the look out as he tests the laws of physics by seeing what objects bounce the fastest down the stairs or the laws of chemistry as he experiments with what random objects mix best with play-doh.  When bedtime does come around, it is long process as I bounce back between my two kids and their urgent needs sailing solo as my husband is often times at work this time of day.  My little guy certainly keeps me on my toes from sun up to sun down.

            My time I have come to realize is now no longer my own, my needs no longer a main priority and my cup of water no longer belonging just to me.  There are two other little people who I am happy to put at the top of the list, even if they do demand it.  I do have to admit that if it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t take the time to color in a coloring book, explore the unpredictable path of ant or eat a popsicle on the front steps.  Not to mention sing songs like ‘Ole McDonald or read from The Bernstein Bears book series – which I secretly can never get enough of.  In some ways every day is kind of like reliving my childhood, but now instead of discovering all the wonders of being a kid, I get the privilege of introducing those wonders to little eyes that sparkle with excitement.  And while my days are not always filled with accomplishing the items on my list, I can honestly say that the time I spend caring for my children, is time well spent.