Sunday, November 22, 2009

jack of all trades

And a master of none.

That is going to be the most recent job title on my resume when I go back to work outside the home someday in the future.

In the past week I have:

  • Attempted to refinish our living room furniture via sandpaper and stain.  I solicited vague instructions through texting a friend I wish could come do the project for me I could see more and just dove into it. 
    We hosted Bible study at our house last night an I'm hoping the compliments weren't fake lies blowing smoke up my you-know-what anything but genuine.  I think it will make an improvement to our out of date living room at the very least.
  • Prepared meals, cleaned up messes, taught school and shuttled kids to activities.
  • Refused to accept lower than usual water pressure in our home and after a few days called the local water company to come check on our pipes. 
    After checking the meter at the street, they generously came down to our basement utility room and pointed deep into our disgusting crawl space to our "PRV" or pressure regulating valve. 
    Now, when we first moved in four years ago, I made a public declaration told my Beloved that I would N.E.V.E.R. be venturing into the dark, dirt filled crawl space for any reason under the sun.  Yet, somehow I still found myself crouching down in the dirt praying that dead people wouldn't pop up from the ground with various plumbing tools in one hand and a flashlight in the other to seek out the above-mentioned PRV and remedy our water pressure problem.
    The water guys asked, "Are you the mechanic in the family?"  I looked at my Beloved and laughed as I replied, "We don't have a mechanic in the family!"
  • Prepared meals, cleaned up messes, taught school and shuttled kids to activities.
  • Endured negotiations with Honda an un-named van manufacturer to get my SECOND new transmission installed under warranty after the first new one we paid $3600 for a mere three months ago started malfunctioning.
  • Prepared meals, cleaned up messes, taught school and shuttled kids to activities.
  • Fell behind on my "Mountain of Laundry Saturday Madness" when I took some time to chill with these girls.  It fills me up to connect with these women - and I came home feeling like I had done 1000 sit ups because my gut was sore from laughing so hard.  She may seem all sweet and innocent, but Ashley is the queen of sarcasm and one-liners.  OK, they all are just hilarious and I love them. 
    Beyond humor, they are full of wisdom and encourage me to be a better mother, wife, and friend.  They challenge me and inspire me and I wouldn't be the woman I am without them.
  • Prepared meals, cleaned up messes, taught school and shuttled kids to activities.
  • Endured and gritted my teeth when my Beloved's decision to get all the kids' ski gear out of the basement closets and set up for this season turned into pulling every blasted thing out of each closet, cabinet, and crevice of storage in the basement for "pruning."  Suddenly there was a pile as tall as me and just as wide of, "things to make decisions on." 
    I have no problem clearing out junk and giving away things we don't need, but when he holds up my junior high school yearbook and says, "Do you ever look at this?" I tend to object because although I may not take it out and admire my zitty brace-face, my grandchildren might want to.
    Don't erase my existence, man.
    An answer wasn't necessary when he suggested we put the bouncy seat in the give away pile.  The look on my face made him find a place for it in the back of the storage closet.
  • Prepared meals, cleaned up messes, taught school and shuttled kids to activities.
  • Realized that my stand alone freezer in the garage was not keeping our antelope meat completely frozen.  I procrastinated as much as I could, but then I got the appliance repair service out here to fix it so we didn't waste all that food.

These are just a few things off the top of my head, but I think I'm not alone in feeling like it is a daily challenge to keep all my plates spinning.

Simply keeping the house from looking like a tornado hit it, and making meals and cleaning up the aftermath, as well as getting the kids where they need to go is a lot.  But adding extra projects like furniture staining and water pressure repairs can really throw the balance off.

And imbalance is hard to manage.

Multi-tasking becomes a stay-at-home mom's middle FIRST name.  My days are so full and any extra request for my time, effort, or attention can sometimes be overwhelming.

I wind up feeling like I'm not really good at any one thing.

Can anyone relate?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

i can totally relate, and i don't even have schooling in the mix!

you HAVE to keep the yearbook! :)

Mama Shoe said...

me me me me relate!
i started a couple of posts about the same topic but was too distracted to even finish one and lost my train of thought-- if i ever had one...

i love that you have away time to just laugh until your gut is sore. soo cool. i'm need something to really laugh about these days!!!
love ya, g

Erika Balyo said...

Oh, Laurie, I couldn't agree more!! Wish you could drive east about 450 miles, so I could demonstrate/commiserate my tornadic life, too!

And, Mama Shoe, you have it exactly right on those blog posts, trains of thoughts and the gut laughs! :)

dogfather said...

From the outside looking into the life of the Sweeney family, you are a master of many talents - keeping the multitude of projects going in a positive direction is the trait I admire most.

The "Master of none" phrase certainly does NOT apply to you.

God gives everyone a different set of talents to use in this world. From my perspective, you continue to utilize yours to the fullest. Keep up the good work my dear.

Mountain Mama said...

I AM sweet and innocent!

And yes, I can relate!! AND you do a fabulous job of doing it all. You are my example and hero.

ps there is a shortage of pumpkin

Carrie said...

I second what you Dad said!!! You keep me sane and encourage me with every phone call!!! Can't wait 8 more days and I will be gut laughing with you!!! Love you Laur.

Keepin' Up with the Joneses said...

Yep, i can relate. My vote is to keep the bouncy seat AND the yearbook!

wynkoopmom said...

Laurie...
It's quite remarkable how much we can relate as
stay-at-home moms. I thank you for verbalizing
my daily thoughts and feelings. It seems I just
finish folding and putting away all the clean laundry
when I glance at the upstairs basket and the darn
thing is full again. Same thing could be said for
dusting, vacuuming, dishwasher, etc.....it's a regular complaint and blessing all in one.

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