Having been a working girl most of my adult life and having been surrounded by friends of the same workaholic nature, I am frequently asked how am I faring as a stay-at-home wife. What do I do with all those free hours of the day? What do I keep myself busy with? Don't I get bored? Those are their questions with follow up statements like: "Me, I wouldn't know what to do." "I would die of boredom." "I'd go crazy." Etc...etc...etc...
I understand their concerns and they are valid ones. I used to think the same way when I was still working. After all, I've worked for 13 years straight then one year rest before going back to work for another 2 years. So, 15 working years all in all. I must be missing it sometimes, right?
Well, I must admit, I do miss it sometimes. But not to the point of going crazy. At least not yet. How far am I in this work hiatus, let's see... Hmmmm.... Just about 7 months. Not too long yet, I know. But for the benefit of those wondering how a stay-at-home wife spend her days, here are the things I busy myself with:
- Cooking & Baking (when in the mood). Take note, there are at least three meals in a day. When I'm in the mood, the whole day is spent in the kitchen.
- Gardening. I keep a flower garden on the front yard and an herb garden at the back. Just small ones but they bring me so much delight. :)
- Cleaning/Tidying things around the house. Believe me, this chore is endless! The dishes. The laundry. The toilets. The rooms. The yard. For this alone, one daylight is not enough!
- Budget & Accounting. I like to keep tabs on our expenses and be able to pay bills on time. Categorizing each expenditure so I'd know where our money goes. How much goes to savings or investment, if there's any? How much goes to gifts and entertainment? Are we overspending on something? I have an excel file of what goes in and out. But even this, I can't do diligently because of all the "cleaning" and "procrastinating". Mostly because of the procrastinating. Hehe...
- Running errands. Banks, groceries, shopping, and going with husband for his various what-not. He likes to bring me along wherever he goes, including work. Well, not exactly in his workplace but he tags me along in the ride and let me go shopping or wandering around the metro while he's in the office. Which, by the way, I don't mind much since there's shopping involved but sometimes I prefer to stay at home and finish some chores. I still don't like the feeling that I didn't have a productive day.
- Painting, sketching, drawing, coloring, crocheting, sewing, mending rips & holes and creating other handicraft work.
- Reading. I have tons of unread books in my shelf.
- Writing and blogging. At least, trying to. I'm failing miserably in trying to allot ample time for this. I keep putting it off. It's almost like I fear it or something. Exactly what do I fear about serious writing, I don't know... I guess that's for another musing. If I can get my butt to sit still for a few hours and my fingers to write seriously, that is! And last but definitely not the least, for these things are the ultimate time thieves for me...
- Playing games on my phone, checking/browsing through social networking sites and watching TV series! Oh, I'm such a couch potato when slacking wins over my will! I have already finished three series on Netflix - 13 Reasons Why, Santa Clarita Diet and The Affair - watching 3 to 5 episodes in one sitting! Not to mention a number of old movies I watched before closing my eyes at night or while folding the laundry during the day.
So, there you have it! Just try to imagine how you can fit all these in one day. Uhh....you can't. Just one major task each day, the rest is for cooking and tidying things up. So, no. There's no room for boredom for me...not just yet. I still find my time lacking for all the things I need to do and would like to do. And this is just coming from a stay-at-home wife without any kid yet. So, how much busier are the stay-at-home moms? That, I can only imagine... :)
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