Monday, July 20, 2009

Repetition of Housewivery

It is an endless vicious cycle that keeps going and going and there never seems to be an end in sight.

It's the cleaning of a house.

I realize I may sound overdramatic but it's true; it seems like no matter how much I clean the next day everything looks horrible again like I didn't do anything at all the day before (more especially in the living room where all of Trio's toys are); and this is only with one kid! My goodness I can't imagine how chaotic life would/will be if/when I have more!! Or even animals!! Although honestly at this point it is looking like no pets for us at least not for a long while; I have no desire to have a yet another living thing to clean up after on a daily basis.

But it just seems to never end. And I hate some house chores like nothing else, cleaning bathrooms being one. I HATE cleaning bathrooms and it's not sociological thing having to do with my race or gender; it is just when I shared a bathroom with my sister she had a very specific way she liked it cleaned and as she was the older one and usually the one in charge it had to be her way or it was wrong. And it's because of this I hate cleaning the bathrooms; toilets are acceptable only because they're easy now but of course once Trio gets potty trained and misses then it also may be a big pain in the ass. Although I do admit I'm gonna be a mean mom; at 12 if you're still "missing" and pissing on the toilet rim, body, or floor you're cleaning your own damn bathroom.

Then there's laundry which is not bad I don't mind folding so much usually because I wash often enough where I don't have to spend an hour folding. Cooking I like I don't mind the dishes so much I do wash them by hand b/c our dishwasher sucks and since I wash them by hand I wash them everyday (with the exception of the weekends when we eat out at a family or friend's house). But it's the repetition of cleaning that's annoying.

Day in day our same thing and while I realize this is part and parcel of being a SAHM sometimes it sucks. You get tired from cleaning you really do. People who don't clean as often or those who have maids don't get it but it wears you out. Bending to sweep and pick up the stuff in a dustpan, mopping, loading up laundry and taking them out of the dryer. Then there's the drawbacks like getting bleach on your clothes when cleaning, trying to make sure your child doesn't get underfoot (I usually implement the playpen and some educational TV and got at it), and sometimes not having it appreciated. That's what really sucks is when people think that just because you're a SAHM you sit on your ass all day eating bon-bons, watching soaps and doing nothing. I don't need recognition but sometimes it's nice especially when I do something like clean both bathrooms on the same day which I never really do only because I'm good enough to get one day before Trio is saying (in baby language) "Pay attention to me!"

I also do a lot with Trio. We go out swimming or on playdates I think we may go to a children's museum soon so he can have some hands-on activity. I wear him out and myself out in the process and sometimes I take a nap when he does but sometimes I clean and do house stuff. Thus begins the repetition. And the cycle. And it will all begin again tomorrow.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Insecurities

When I was younger I wasn't really popular. You may not know it from the stunning social life I have now (hardy har har) but my middle school years are pretty much a black hole in my memory as I've blocked them out they were so miserable for me. I mean I was the girl everyone made fun of in school and if I were in middle school now I would have probably been on some sort of watch list to make sure that I didn't go crazy and try to take out all the populars.

High school was a little better because by that time I didn't give a shit. If you didn't like me boo fucking hoo what do I care I had people who wanted to be around me. But the double edged sword to this was when my friends acted like they didn't want to hang out with me I got sensitive and defensive and usually had a big blowout with them accusing them of not wanting to be my friend anymore and telling them if that was the case then they could go ahead and take themselves out of my life.

In hindsight I realize that it was just life. That's what happens it starts in high school to prepare you for when it happens in the real world and life just takes you in opposites directions and paths. Does that make it a bad thing? No because one of the friends that the aforementioned scenario happened to is now one of my dear friends again. However I think because of my extraordinary experience in middle school (and I say that because I really don't know many other people that this happened to save for the few friends I had those years) I am always self conscious and think everyone hates me.

Yes it's sad but it's true. I can't let that part of my personality go. I think people really don't want to hang out with me, whether they're the friends from my Mom's Group or the ones I've had for years. I think they talk about me once I leave the room. I think they think I'm the worst mother in the world (although I do KNOW some disapprove of my mommy-ing methods but that's a blog for another time). And I can't stop myself no matter how foolish it seems. It is always something that's going to be part of me and the way I am.

I believe that no matter how old you get your insecurities stay with you. You can be pencil thin now but if you were the fat kid in school it sticks with you. One of my things was my hair. It grew out in an Afro when I was younger and I had to put so many chemicals in it to get it to grow down including a whole semester in braids to get it to grow. Because my hair got so much grief I didn't cut it pretty much at all from my 8th grade year until my sophomore year of college. Yeah it's pretty now and people are envious of the curls; but when I was ten it was the bane of my existence and even to this day sometimes I yearn for straight hair.

It sucks sometimes ti know that no matter how old you get your past insecurities are always apart of me, like some gruesome growth on your personality that pops up at the most unwanted times. However I know that if my life wasn't the way it was I may not be where I am now. I might not be the person I am and although I have my flaws like everyone else I think I'm mostly good. And that's what I can be grateful for whenever my insecurities rear their ugly heads and try to make me second guess myself. Because I do know I'm a likeable person for the most part. I know that at this point in my life if people really didn't like they wouldn't be around either at their discretion or mine because I'm not really that dumb and I can tell (usually) when people don't like me. I know that I don't get to hang out with my friends as often as two years ago BT (Before Trio) and that's just life and the demands of motherhood. I don't like getting a babysitter every weekend to go out and act like some 21 year old who has no responsibilities because I know I do. I also know they have kids and are in the same position and are just sometimes just plan tired from life and work. I have to remind myself of this whenever those ugly insecurities come to call.

Because I'm a woman; I'm a wife, mother, trying to be a writer to make things a little easier for my family. Because I'm good at what I do and I do those things damn well. Because I'm older and (somewhat) wiser about how people are and know that 9 times out of 10 they hate you because they ain't you and you have something they want. And because I'll be damned if I let my insecurities run my life now like they did when I was younger.