We Still Love You. But THIS Is Our Chaotic Life Right Now
One of the frustrating things about parenthood — besides endless laundry and inevitable mess — is the lack of time you have for leisure pursuits. And by leisure pursuits, I don’t even mean weekend excursions to a spa. I mean things like chatting on the phone or reading a book before bed. I miss phone calls, like when my brother has tried to call during bedtime — and I’m too exhausted to call back by the time I convince my 3-year-old that she can’t sleep with three heavy blankets when it’s 80 degrees in her room.
I chatted with my mom on FaceTime the other day, and you should have seen the mess that was made, while I was in the same room, because my attention was on something other than managing mischief. Every stuffed animal, book and blanket was strewn about the room in the name of creative play. It’s not that I don’t want to talk — it’s that when I do talk, my 2-year-old sneaks into the kitchen to grab a large tub of sunflower seeds off the counter and put them on the floor for easy snacking access for him and the dog. And somehow, both kids inevitably end up naked — as my mom can attest from our FaceTime chat. And reading? Well, I usually average about 1.5 pages before I pass out at bedtime. It’s taking me FOREVER to get through Hunger Games.
You know going into parenthood that you won’t have a ton of free time for awhile, but it can sometimes be a shock to the system how much your other interests get put on the back burner because you have a small child trying to touch the front burner of your stove and severely injure himself. But you also know that this stage won’t last forever, and your kiddos’ instincts to dump things on the floor and eat them will pass. You just hope that those you love will understand being put on the back burner when you one day have time to come up for air again! I love how this video perfectly depicts the chaos and juggling that is being the head of a house with small kiddos.
Can’t see the video? Click here to watch what it looks like to try to maintain a social life with small kids.
That seriously nails it, right down to Shark Tank, don’t you think? —Erin