Great Day

Thursdays are supposed to be my "day off."

Light or no housecleaning and no errands.

Despite that, I haven't been taking it recently. I've been making out my to-do list and to-doing it. I mean, obviously there are a few things I can't not do (cook dinner, do the dishes, etc) but there's no reason why I should continue to pile stuff up on myself. I deserve a day off once a week, it's only fair. I don't generally get to sleep late (Thomas is a really heavy sleeper, so expecting him to get up and take care of Darcy just doesn't work. In order to do it, he has to set an alarm - and then I'm awake - or I have to kick him several times to get him out of bed, in which case, I'm now both awake and MAD. So, honestly, I may as well just get up...) and I don't really like going out of the house by myself, so I don't generally take a Mom's Day off.

Being a stay at home mom is like... having your job 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no time off for good behavior.

Even when I take a 'day off' it isn't, really. I still have to get lunch, drinks, television on, television off, kill bugs, rescue toys from monsters, look at this, look at that, look at ME, answer questions that don't make any sense, get snacks, clean up spills, etc etc.

But at least, when I'm having a 'day off' I don't add sweeping the floor, vacuuming, washing the windows, mopping, declutternig, etc.

So, I spent yesterday playing warcraft, and reading a book, and didn't pick up a single toy or put away a single pair of dirty socks. (No, for whatever reason, my husband is entirely incapable of taking his damn socks from the livingroom to the laundry hamper. Sigh.)

Wednesday, I kept careful track of everything I did for someone else, and every time I was nice, or at least, didn't strangle someone. I gave myself a sticker for tripping over a 12-pack of soda that had been left in the middle of the living room floor, but managing to NOT fall down, and then another one for promptly putting the 12-pack away, so it didn't happen again. Wednesday, I kept track of what I did.

Thursday, I kept track of what I didn't do.

I didn't lose my temper. I didn't have a meltdown about the fact that Thomas is also incapable of tossing his t-shirt in the hamper, despite the fact that the hamper is less than 2 feet from his side of the bed. (Ok, so I still NOTICED it, but I didn't clean it up, and I didn't get mad about it.)

I didn't allow myself to feel guilty for enjoying my day.

I didn't forget to take water with me on my walk, as it's 90 degrees out.

I didn't yell at Darcy for refusing to get dressed. So she stayed in her peejays most of the day. So what?

Yesterday was a great day!

Yesterday, I admired my skin. It's firm and unwrinkled. I don't have 'fine lines' around my eyes and mouth. My acne is clearing up incredibly. I'm getting a bit tanned from being outside so much, so I don't have the stereotypical fish-belly legs. Added attention to drinking water and to moisturizing has made the skin on my legs very soft and supple.

I've enjoyed reading the comments I've gotten so far, and I hope to hear/see some more soon! Come on, people, I know you're out there! What do you love about yourself?