I Don't Wanna!
May 25, 2010
Do you ever get tired of the dailiness of your daily chores? I’ve been going through a stretch where I am absolutely sick of cooking. I don’t want to make dinner ever again.
I don’t wanna!
Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who often helps with dinner and has offered to take over cooking for a week at a time. (I just might take him up on that.) The problem is, it’s more than that. I also don’t wanna clean the bathrooms or vacuum or wash the dishes. And let us not even speak of the laundry. Obviously, I was supposed to be born into a life of leisure, and something has gone terribly wrong.
Since I can’t afford to hire a chef or a maid, I have to trick and bribe and reward myself into keeping up with my household responsibilities when I feel like this. I use the kitchen timer. I promise myself I only have to clean while the commercials are on during a favorite TV show. I reward myself with a half hour of reading for pleasure if I empty the dishwasher and refill it. I even—gasp—skip doing a chore at its appointed time. Guess what? The world doesn’t end. The house remains standing, and though it occasionally looks a little disheveled, the health inspector has not yet condemned it.
This ennui tells me something: I need a break. I need a day or two where I don’t have to do chores and errands and cooking. A day or two in which to listen to myself and see if there is anything I could simplify or stop doing. Does my schedule need rearranging? Is there something I should start doing that would feed my soul? I’m learning not to be so hard on myself when I’m feeling a little less than enthusiastic about household chores.
Soon enough I’ll feel better, and I’ll go back to cooking and cleaning with a better attitude. Until then, does anybody have the phone number for the pizza delivery place?
Just a little reminder
11 comments
Life is definitely......daily. And it does get tedious. I think sometimes we have to step back, take a break and refill our own wells.
ReplyDeleteGuilt, anger, and disgust will only get you so far and work for so long.
And yeah, you really need to take that man up on his offer!!!
I can so relate to your thoughts today! All of the family management things (cooking, cleaning, organizing...) just go on and on and on. No end in sight! I agree taking some time out is needed and useful to put things back in perspective and see if some positive changes are in order. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteLaure--guess it was my turn for a blue funk. Time for some well-filling on my part, and some cooking on dear husband's part!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragment, Claire. I think we've all been there if we manage a home and family. Sometimes it just gets to be too much and a break is needed.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I so hear you. I once heard a woman saying that she took up needle crafts so that *something* she did would stay done at the end of the day, even if it was only three rows of an afghan. Because everything else would get undone: the food would be eaten, the dishes would need washing, the floors would get dirty again. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd definitely take your husband up on his offer. That's amazing! I wheedled and begged F. to put some freakin' pot pies in the oven the other night because I just couldn't face the kitchen again. It happens. Oh, well. ;)
Any chance you'll take a break over the upcoming holiday weekend?
Hmm... you'd think that with a three-day weekend approaching, I could take a break. We'll see what I can work out. Oh, and my husband is cooking dinner tonight!
ReplyDeleteGirl, we need a weekend getaway! Then either you'd come back refreshed or have gotten used to not doing daily chores. It would be the latter for me, definitely.
ReplyDeleteKeep on trudging along, and that pizza is sounding might good!
You said it! A getaway always refreshes me and gives me a new, more positive perspective. I've got one coming up in June, if I can hold out that long!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Obviously, I was supposed to be born into a life of leisure, and something has gone terribly wrong."
ReplyDeleteI got such a laugh out of reading this... my thoughts exactly! I suspect I'm several years your senior so I'll tell you what has happened to me... my priorities have shifted and - I hope Martha Stewart is not listening, but I really don't care if she is - a picture perfect house is no longer a priority. Yes, gasp! Like you, my home has not been condemned - yet! I realized some time back that my years on this earth are very limited, and while I want a cozy and clean home I also want time for art, gardening, reading, knitting and just relax and enjoy life time. So I do my housecleaning in little spurts, here and there - instead of spending from 7:30 am to about 3:30 pm every Saturday cleaning non-stop like I used to. I also cook in fairly large amounts and freeze leftovers in serving size portions for quick meals when I just don't want to cook. And, as you noted, there's always takeout!
I think what you're feeling is good.... life is short... make time for the stuff that really counts!
Teresa--perhaps what I'm feeling is a deep shift in priorities? I know I have been working more at writing lately, and that is squeezing my household chores time (and my art time and my horse time...). I think you've got it figured out--and made peace with all the various pulls in your life. That gives me hope!
ReplyDelete