A Day in the Life of a Stay-At-Home Mom

Wow, bet you didn't think I'd be posting anything to this blog--ever! Yes, it's been quite a while. Life has changed tremendously, and my time is not my own any longer . . . but slowly, ever so slowly, I am trying to begin writing again. I am like a sluggish little turtle, making my way there, slowly but surely.

At any rate, today I wanted to share a silly little poem I wrote, a response to the question I'm often asked now that I'm a stay-at-home mom: so, like, what do you DO all day?? This question makes me chuckle, as it is often asked with a tone suggesting that I spend my days watching Dr. Phil and sipping wine in the afternoon.

Hardly!

There's a reason that a nanny or housekeeper is so costly--because it's work!

At any rate, I'm certainly not looking to spark a political debate of the "she said, she said," working mom v. stay-at-home mom variety. Just thought I'd share this little ditty and give you a peek at a typical day. And, lest you think I'm complaining in any way, rest assured that I am not. Being able to stay home with my son (lovingly referred to as "pumpkin" in this poem) is truly a dream come true for me!

**The Stay-At-Home Mama**

This poem is dedicated to my fellow hard-working stay-at-home mothers and our friends who think we do nothing all day long ;-)

I awaken every morning,

With high hopes for the day—

Perhaps I’ll eat some bonbons!

And flit the day away.

No sooner than I think it,

Or gulp my coffee down,

My pumpkin starts to twist and turn,

Awakening with a sound.

I set down liquid gold,

And creep into his room.

We sing a song, slip into diaper dry,

Then the daily activities resume.

It’s time to eat,

And time to burp,

And time for mom to grab a bite too.

It’s time to play

And time to clean,

And, oh my, it’s already noon!

So it’s time to eat

And time to burp,

And time for mom to grab a bit once more—

It’s time to kick

And time to roll,

And, oh my, it’s already four!

So it’s time to eat

And time to burp,

And time to take a nap—

And you mentioned something about a bonbon,

Now, what was that??

I’d love to indulge,

And put my feet up,

Lay down and watch some t.v.—

But the laundry abounds,

There are dishes to clean,

And a family I need to feed.

So the bonbons stay put,

Pots and pans go to work,

And I whip a meal delightful.

Then the baby is crying,

The kitchen’s a mess,

And the house looks downright frightful!

So I triage the mess,

I’ll clean more tomorrow,

Then give my pumpkin a scrubbing.

And then we collapse,

Down the last milk of the day,

And oh, how my tired feed need rubbing.

Then pumpkin goes down,

All sweet, with round belly—

Maybe now for some time to myself!

Ahh, silly me,

I must have been dreaming!

That kitchen doesn’t clean itself.

There are bottles to wash,

And dishes to scrub,

And counters to wipe down clean.

And at the end of the day,

When the work’s finally done,

My tank is empty, and lean.

Thus it’s time to turn in,

Perhaps dream about bonbons?

And snag some restful sleep,

For tomorrow will come,

With all its demands and “to dos”—

Time to wash, rinse, and repeat!

Pregnant Pause

Well, despite what you may be thinking, I am capable of posting something on this blog and did not in fact forget my log in information :-).

If you keep up with my other blog or know me at all, you know the craziness that is our life lately. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway!), writing creatively for this space has gone the way of the dodo. Seeing that I'm now free of my gosh-awful job (woohoo!!) and can spend the next 12 weeks preparing for baby's arrival, I do hope that will change.

But, whether it changes or not, I've decided to take a bit of a break from this blog for now. In my excitement, I started it at probably the worst time ever, e.g., just a few months before picking up and moving across the country and turning everything about our lives upside down!! Timing is everything, as they say, and I just don't feel it's the time for this.

Personally, I am very excited about moving into this new phase of life--motherhood and being out of the work world, which already suits me perfectly. In fact, I'd be quite a happy stay-at-home wife, baby or not! :-). I do know that becoming a mother is a full-time job in itself, but I'm looking forward to also beginning to direct real, genuine focus to my writing. Not just a flittering thought here or there, but actually drafting a writing plan and committing to it. This is something I want and need to work out for myself, outside the confines and false "pressures" of a blog.

When there's something to share, then I'll share--but for now, the working and fleshing out of this lifelong desire to write is a private matter.

So, I'm not sure when exactly I'll be back, but I don't have plans to take down this blog. My friend Rachel did such a lovely job designing it, so I plan on leaving the "light on" as they say :-).

For now, I'm signing off from this space and will leave you with one more Haiku, aptly-titled "Pregnant Pause" and inspired by the craziness of life that has become routine for my husband and me lately :-).

Pregnant Pause

Land of land mines, vast--

Joy and sorrow make strange friends.

Birthed, into a storm.

Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the Jungle

Twist and turn to please

Rabid monkey on my back--

Counting down the days.

A Different Kind of Post

So this post doesn't consist of a Haiku or a poem, just some thoughts I've had lately about writing . . .

 

 

 

Today, I'm tired. At 2 pm, it took all my strength to drag myself the 0.3 miles to Starbucks for some liquid energy. I suppose this baby is growing like crazy and doing a number on my system! A small price to pay, if you ask me.

 

More than anything, right now I'm simply tired of certain aspects of life--namely, my job. It's exhausting. It's draining. It's a jagged, immovable pebble stuck in the most unreachable corner of my shoe. It's a drag.

 

Ok, so pardon my high-pitched hyperbole, but you get the picture--this is not what I envisioned doing. And this is certainly not why I went to law school. I want to be a writer. I long to create, to publish, to captivate, to entertain. I yearn to fulfill that dream I've had since early, early childhood. It's in my bones, in my marrow.

 

But how?? How do I create and inspire in the midst of the desert? By the end of the day, I'm so parched and empty, it takes all of me just to make dinner and eat it. This was the case even before getting pregnant!

 

I've been pouring out my heart to the Lord about this very issue, and as He so often does, He spoke to me. He whispered gently but firmly in my ear--this dream is His to fulfill. He can make me a writer. He can provide the inspiration and the time. He will do it. And I will be His vessel, humbly and thankfully allowing Him to work through me. Just like our growing baby, so too will the Lord be the one to make this happen--not me.

 

I was comforted tremendously by this word--but also a little uncomfortable with what it revealed . . . to be honest, my own self-focus. I realized there are still parts of my heart that long to attain my own glory and attention, parts of my heart craving ownership as opposed to stewardship. Reflecting on this, it's no surprise I am where I am now. The Lord is so purposeful in His dealings with us--He wants to bless us and use us, but He also knows just how much preparation that requires.

 

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel like I will write one day--but not a minute before that desire has ceased to be my main focus, for He must be the desire of my heart. And not a second before I truly get that I am His empty jar of clay (see 2 Corinthians 4:7), meant to point to His goodness and glory and not my own . . .

 

So, a bit of a non-traditional post for a blog that's meant to house creative works, not posts about creative works, but such is life! I suppose the moment you go to create "rules," you should be ready to bend them :).

Life

Life

Tiny seed of life,

Planted in the dark of night.

Grow, sweet baby, grow.

No Place Like Home

So, I'm thrilled to be writing this post from my brand new MacBook Air!!!! I wanted to blog last night (got it yesterday afternoon), but like so many things technology-related, it took hours to get it all set up and working, and to transfer my old files to this computer.

However, I'm very happy to report that, because of my techie husband, it's now up and running! So I thought I'd take a little time to blog a Haiku this morning before work.

There is a lot I could say about this little poem - I wrote it this past weekend while I was in Orlando, traveling for work. The quick summary is that this was my first trip back South since leaving Atlanta on June 23, and boy--the emotion of it all bowled me over!

Admittedly, I am a super-sentimental person. People, places, things, smells, etc. etc. hold so much meaning to me, and are so closely tied to my heartstrings. So, flying into Atlanta and seeing it for the first time in over two months was almost more than I could bare. It's amazing how one place can hold so much memory and emotion! I knew it was going to feel super weird having a layover in my hometown, and it proved to be even harder than I imagined.

So, that's just a quick back story. I'm sure I'll be blogging more on that topic--but for now, here's a little ditty. Happy Monday, y'all!

No Place Like Home

Home--where the heart is?

So close, yet so far away.

Georgia, on my mind.

Earth, Wind, & Fire

Ergh . . . so last night, I stayed up and wrote a whole long, thoughtful post about getting back to writing, and the inspiration behind this Haiku . . . only to click "publish" and have the whole thing disappear!! I hate when that happens!! It's totally deflating--so I went to bed instead of trying to re-create :).

And tonight, I simply don't have much energy to write--I'm unfortunately coming down with some kind of bug, and I feel awful. Yuck. Summer colds are the worst! :(

So, I'll just keep it short: after a long break away from the blog, I'm finally feeling ready to jump back in (starting slowly, of course!). We continue to settle in here, and with each passing day, this California life becomes more comfortable for both of us. I do, however, miss home a lot! And it's those emotions that inspired this little Haiku - so yay for being back, even if it's just something as simple as a Haiku!

Earth, Wind, & Fire

Rolling tear on cheek,

Scattered, to the earth's corners--

The fog is lifting.

Hmm

Ok, so clearly, this blog is not exactly doing what I intended it to do. I wonder if that might have something to do with the complete and utter chaos of my life thus far this year?? That I'm essentially playing "fruit basket turnover" with every aspect of life?

Probably.

In hindsight, this was likely not the year to try and start a project. My only project right now is figuring out how in the world I'm going to get myself, my husband, our entire home, our cars, and our two dogs from Atlanta to Sacramento! The good news is, it's Thursday and we are leaving town on Saturday--so 99% of all those details have already been addressed. The bad news is, it's Thursday and we are leaving town on Saturday--and my heart is excited but heavy at the same time. It simply doesn't feel real!!

I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to feel real just about the time we're half-way through Nebraska :-).

At any rate, I certainly do hope to pick back up with writing at some point. It might be a month. It might be two or three months. But, when we're fully settled into our new place, I hope to get back to it--and be able to write more than a 3-line Haiku! Something tells me I'll have lots of time and lots of inspiration in the days to come. Change and upheaval and intense emotion seems to produce a nice crop of work . . . so we'll see!

Until then, you can keep up with our road trip and moving adventures on my personal blog, http://meredithlh.blogspot.com. I hope to be able to blog a little from the road each day--should be something!

Cirque du Soleil

Well readers, I am delinquent beyond delinquent. It's pretty telling when you can't even find the time to post a HAIKU once a week on a regular schedule. Sad! That shows you what kind of week it's been - so with that in mind, here's this week's Haiku, aptly named after scary, freakish circus performers :-)

Cirque du Soleil

Hide behind a mask,

Grotesque show for all to see--

Swinging from the roof.

Settled

Hello all! Well, the craziness of this "season" has finally caught up with me--so this week's Haiku is coming a day late! But hey, given how absolutely ridiculously busy this past week has been, I'm just fine with that.

A lot has happened since my last post here - the biggest news being that I GOT A JOB in California!! Not just any job--a fantastic job doing exactly what I wanted to do (e.g. continue in the field of public health law work), and I could not be more excited or more thankful. It's pretty unbelievable to me! God is such a good and faithful God, and He gets all the credit.

So--finding out that good news also set off a bit of a chain reaction at my current job, leading to some not-so-pleasant interactions. It's been a rough past few days around there for me, but I'm coming out of it and everything is finally settling into place in terms of when I'm leaving, making the transition, etc. And that feels so good! I'm such a planner by nature, and the future has been so up in the air for the past two months. Now, I'm happy and relieved just to know what I'm doing, where I'm going, and when. Just another big item to check off of that ever-growing "to do" list!

So, it's in that vein that we have today's little ditty. Enjoy!

Settled

The end, ever-near.

Thick myriad of details--

Click, click, into place.