>Spring Break
>For those of you who insist on asking “When are you going back to work again?” every time you see me, here is the carpool schedule I just made detailing my stepdaughters’ activities during the next three days. This of course does not include taking care of my two-year-old, preparing meals for everyone, doing laundry for five, or cleaning the house.
Wednesday
6:30: Take my 15–year-old stepdaughter to carpool.
7:30: Take my 12-year-old stepdaughter to school.
2:00: Pick up my 15-year-old stepdaughter from school across town.
3:00: Pick up my 12-year-old stepdaughter from school.
5:00: Take 15 to soccer practice.
6:00: Take 12 to play rehearsal. Make sure she has everything needed for dress rehearsal.
6:30: Pick up 15.
9:00: Pick up 12.
Thursday
6:30: Take 15 to carpool.
8:00: Take 12 to school. Make sure she has lunch money and costume for play “previews” today during special assembly.
2:00: Pick up 15 and two other girls across town. Take everyone to their respective houses.
3:00: Pick up 12.
6:30: Take 15 to play at high school across town.
9:00: Pick up 15.
Friday
6:30: Take 15 to carpool.
8:00: Take 12 to school.
2:00: Pick up 15.
3:00: Pick up 12.
5:00: Take 12 to school for play.
6:30: Play.
Saturday
7:30: Have 12 on soccer field for game. Game starts at 8:30.
12:00 Have 15 on soccer field for game. Game starts at 1:00.
4:00: Pick up 12 from refereeing.
5:00: Take 12 to dress rehearsal.
6:30: Play.
7:00 15 must be at a party across town at this time.
9:30: Cast party for play.
11:00: Pick up 15 from party.
Now you understand why I sometimes seem a little irritated by the implication that I’m no longer working.
However, that’s not the real point of this post. The point is that I made this schedule for the girls’ mother, who’s in town visiting and is responsible for the girls until Sunday.
As for me? I’m on vacation, baby!
>I only work at my “job” one day a week. My “job” that I went back to so I could have a break from my real job of being Jack’s Mommy.I work harder on those days that I am home than I ever do on a busy day at the store. But we aren’t proper modern women you know, because we defied the laws of feminism and stayed home.The whole thing makes me scream.
>Wheeee!!Enjoy, enjoy!I live across from school and I LOVE IT! So dreading it when they no longer go there!bwlmfo is my word verification. I think that means you (Lucinda or whatever your real name is–still bitter over that) should take vacation time to go “Bowling Mofo!”
>GIRL–I heard that. It is a constant fight against the “assumptions.” Sadly, even if you were ruling the WORLD while wokring from home, you would still have time for everyone’s else’s complainst AND assumptions that you are eating bobbons and watching re-runs of “I Love Lucy.”ARGH.
>I’m not sure if I could stay home. It might drive me crazier than my co-workers. I just keep on keepin’ on though. Jealous of those that do get to stay home and play with their kids. But not jealous of the laundry and housework and meal preparation that go along with it. I admit it’s rough!
>This schedule gave me horrible anxiety.
>I almost said that you didn’t include time to visit with me, but, then I read it was for their mom, and, well, that’d be awkward since she doesn’t have a blog and all.
>Being a stay-at-home mom is definately more work than going out into the workforce. They have legislation limiting the number of hours a person can “work”, but as a mom you’re on 24/7. My day starts at 6am and ends at 10pm, 7 days a week (weekends are sometimes later if I have to do a late pick-up for the Teen). And I don’t get overtime or nuttin’! Where’s my union rep?!But I’m glad you’re getting some time off chauffeur duty for a few days. Enjoy yourself, chickie.
>GURL ! there was a mini-van advertisment that said “who ever coined the term Stay At Home Mom”. I have NO CLUE what mini-van it was: but OMIGOD, how true ! Enjoy your vacation! Sweet drinks with little unbrellas !
>Now if you could just get someone to take Baby, you’d be home free . . .
>6:30 every morning? Are you serious? You NEED a vacation, Lucinda! Enjoy.
>With a schedule like that you need a vacation. Or a nanny. Or a stiff drink. Or, preferably, all three.
>Good Lord. 15 goes to carpool at 6:30 AM? As in the morning? What time do you people have to go to bed at night? Just reading that schedule made me yawn and feel like I needed a nap. I can’t believe you do that every day all day. Hubby needs to take you out to a fancy dinner, give you lots of little drinks, and then drop you off at a spa! Goodness. Do you just leave Baby in the car in between times so you don’t have to keep buckling and unbuckling her?? 🙂 🙂
>Hey Lucinda, you know that’s not REAL work. LOL. What I find amazing is that in this day and age, people still don’t realise that full-time motherhood is a full-time job, and as tiring as any job, only harder because you have to be “on” and working all.the.time. I know it’s equally hard for parents who are working, whether full-time or part-time. But just because a parent chooses to do this job full-time doesn’t mean they’re down at the beach improving their tan all day! Ok, off my soapbox now!
>So so SO with you on this one! But i truly love the end of your post -enjoy that weekend girl!
>LOL… it looks pretty much like my schedule too! Happy VACATION!!!!!
>Heh. I would have padded it by 15 min all the way around. Just because.
>As I’ve said time and time again, “Every mother is a working mother. The difference is: some get paychecks.”You’re doing a great job.
>God, what I would give for my stepkids to have a biomom who (even once a year) would show up and pretend to be a responsible parent even for just a weekend. Enjoy your time, Lucinda!! I’ll live vicariously through you (although, I too, will be on vacation – but not because my stepkids’ mom is taking over, THAT would signify hell freezing over…).
>Happy vacation! My neighbor and I were chatting in our driveways this afternoon and she mentioned that her husband was on vacation.We were both quiet for a moment and then she said both of our unspoken thoughts:Vacation? When do I get a vacation??Enjoy!
>Good for you! Live it up a little – and not in your car. But I have to ask – does your town not have buses?!
>So…what time is cocktails?
>Busy! Busy! Yikes.Enjoy the vaca!!
>I love when someone UNDERSTANDS! Even though, this time, this isn’t your schedule…you know the rat race run-around that goes on before school, and for me, starting again at 3:30. I don’t have a 2-year old during those hours, but I do have a part-time job, a house, 3 dogs, and the occasional shower to consider. Silly me!
>Yeah, I hear ya. :p And I’m not to the days of junior high yet…I’m wondering what the hell people do when there’s 2 or 3 things going all at once!
>Yyeeeeeaaahhh…I gotta agree. I’m supposedly a SAHM.Just try to catch me “at home”.Okay…off to go listen to first graders read.
>lucinda, i marvel at the fact that people don’t consider childcare a real job. o my gosh. and to think you are investing in a LIFE. while you could be sitting in a cubicle pushing papers around or fiddling on a computer…not that other jobs aren’t importatnt too, it is just demeaning really to be treated like a second class citizen for being a mother or a caregiver. it is one of the hardest jobs going for women!
>I get it! Big difference between not working and not having a job. Besides…with a schedule like that, exactly what kind of JOB do people think you could get? Am I driving carpool because I don’t have a job OR do I not have a job because I drive carpool?Discuss amongst yourselves.
>Similar schedule here. It will be worse next year when the oldest is in Middle School. Then I have to take one at 7:15, and one at 8:45, then retrieve one at 2:20 and one at 4:30. I thought about taking a job to get a break! However, there really isn’t room for one in there, even though I don’t have any children at home anymore.
>Oh, yes. Who was it that said , “Oh, you’ll have so much time on your hands once they are all in school!”??A dummy, that’s who.
>This list exhausts me!!
>Enjoy your ‘vacation’! If bio mom keeps up her end, I’ll get my two week stepkid free time in a month! (but I’m not holding my breath)
>Car pools? Buses? Are you in a city too dangerous to put them on a bus? (Or rural, with no busses?) Rides with friends? No?There are six teens and a couple others (one older, one younger) in and out of this house over the course of a week, and I don’t do that much driving daily. Whew. You are in serious need of some back-up, woman!
>Oh don’t worry- It’s not always quite this bad… But it’s never easy either.Hubs takes both girls to school and carpool in the mornings most days, while I handle the baby.13 rides the schoolbus much of the time. 15 can’t ride the bus because she transferred to the high school across town, but I have a carpool set up with another woman. It’s getting tougher now because both girls are into soccer and theater- and this year, they have blossoming social lives. So I am on the road quite a bit- but I make it work. The other annoying issue is that several parents around here know we’ll always give their daughters a ride if they ask- so they’ve started asking like all the time. We prefer the “You take them and we’ll pick them up” method. But lately it’s become “We take them AND we pick them up.” And that is driving me crazy!