As I write this blog, I’m sitting in the orthodontist office while they work on my daughter’s braces. The Wi-Fi here is not working, and I have a lot of work to catch up on but there’s little that can be done. That’s just the life of a working mom of four.
I’ve been cognizant lately of just how much time my kids actually take up. I’m lucky enough to work just 25 hours a week and only two days at the office. The other days, I try and squeeze my work in around the kids. That means I work at night. I work at the orthodontist. I work in the carpool line. I work while I eat lunch and sometimes while I’m making dinner. Seems like I’m working all the time. But I’m not really.
Because most of the time, I’m doing all the things a parent does but never really thinks about. Like this orthodontist appointment that I thought would take a half hour but is now going on two hours. Then there are the other niggly things that have been eating up my up time lately such as:
Doctor appointments
Signing up for sports teams
Finding and filling out waivers for various sports tournaments
Trying to remember my Signup Genius password so I can sign up to bring a snack to the next game
Checking my kids’ grades multiple times a week thanks to the Edline emails sent from all the schools
Figuring out the vast expanse of college savings plans
Shuttling kids to school and sports and friends houses
Helping with homework
Shopping for project supplies
E-mailing teachers
Scheduling conferences
Arranging high school shadow days and testing dates
Grocery shopping
Preparing meals that often get cold before everyone eats them
Laundry
Trips to the library to pay overdue fines
Trips back to the library to pick up books put on hold
Ordering must-have bathing suits and sports equipment online
Dishes, dishes and more dishes
Reading school memos
Getting gifts for coaches
Searching for lost shoes, books or cell phones
And that’s all just this past week.
I don’t know how moms who work full time find time to fit it all in. I’m just barely scraping by.
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FranklyStein is a blog by Chesapeake Family Magazine editor Betsy Stein who lives in Catonsville with her husband, Chris, and four children, Maggie, 14, Lilly, 13, Adam, 13, and Jonah, 8.
