Best Under Pressure

As I ran about this morning, tending to all of the small little jobs that aren't getting done regularly, now that I'm not home with a house full of kids all day ... I got thinking.

Why is it so much easier to keep on top of things, when there is so much else to do? What happens when a person slows down? Why does taking out the garbage become such a big deal?

Garbage used to be a no-brainer. I had kids in diapers. Where there are diapers, there is garbage that must be tended. Daily. As I threw out the smelly garbage, I just ran around the house and emptied all the other garbage at the same time. There's no sense in wasting a plastic bag ... I would fill it up. Garbage went out regularly. I didn't even think about it.

Cat litter. Our cat must think I've gone on strike. I used to go into the laundry room several times a day. Between gathering up what I may need from the deep freeze for lunches and snacks ... the eternal laundry ... and the never ending need to replenish our milk and toilet paper supply upstairs, I was in the laundry room many times a day. So ... the cat litter got cleaned. These days? I can go days without entering the laundry room. Some nights our cat starts howling a tune like he is really trying to tell us something. I think he's saying, "Would someone please clean my litter box??"

Recycling. There used to be so many empty milk jugs, soup cans and other miscellaneous recycling that piled up in the recycling spot right outside the door ... that emptying it was as natural as taking out the garbage. Now that I don't have dirty diapers in the (what used to be) dirty diaper garbage can (right beside the recycling one) ... I fill up both of them. Then, it's even a 'bigger' job and it gets put off. Crazy.

Cooking. I don't have to make lunch every day, for my preschool set. Yet ... cooking one good meal each Sunday for my family feels like an onerous task.

As I went to grab a Kleenex this morning, I looked up and was amazed to realize that I haven't needed to replace the Kleenex since my full time daycare load was decreased.

I haven't wiped a nose or changed a diaper for over a month. I quit taking out garbage, cleaning cat litter and doing laundry on a daily basis. I rarely cook ... we just forage to find something relatively healthy and balanced to fill our stomachs at supper time.

Yet ... I feel like I have less time on my hands than ever.

What is wrong with this picture?? I guess I need more to do ... I seem to work best under pressure.