Bad Mommy Tuesday ?

I love Tuesday. It's my favorite day of the week. It's the one day of the week when I almost never have anything on the calendar...when the only thing I have to do is get the girls up, feed them breakfast and put the Big One on the school bus. But it's also the one day of the week when I feel like I earn my stripes as Household COO. And the Fly Lady be damned... because I do it all in my PJs... well, at least until I have to go out to the store (Trust me, Safeway's not ready for me to do my shopping like that). Tuesday is the day when you are most likely to walk in my house and smell that oh-so-fresh scent of recently mopped floors, clean (and~oh my~ folded) laundry, sparkling toilets and furniture that you can't leave a stripe on by running your finger over it. This is true, but please note that I said "most likely" not "sure"...

Ironically, the day that is my best Household COO day is also the day I chalk up as the worst Mommy day. Sometimes you have to make a choice, and when you have more than one responsibility, the one you really love can't always be the priority. And on Tuesday, the kids are not the priority. They are safe and fed... they have all their toys to play with. Sometimes they even have friends to play with. But they also spend more time watching the good old boob toob and playing computer games then on any other day of the week (The truth of the matter is that my kids spend too much time staring at screens, but that's a whole other post to be written). And that's not the main issue here. Because here's the rub: remember, I said that Tuesday is my favorite day. Does that mean I prefer cleaning and maintaining the house to playing with and entertaining my children? And if I do, does it mean I love my children less? The answers are yes, and definitely NO (in that order).

Does it make me a bad mother that I would rather mop the floor than play Candy Land with my daughter? No, I don't think it does. It's true, that quality time with your children is the most important thing we (as parents) should devote our time to. But the fact of the matter is...there are other things that need doing. It's all in how we choose to spend our time that makes the difference. Now, I'll admit that even though Tuesday is my worst mothering day...the others are no great shakes either. I've already said I'd rather clean the house than spend hours moving Pooh Bear from one end of a board to another... but...

It is my goal to raise smart, happy, healthy children with a realistic view of the world. I want them to love and be loved, to enjoy the company of others, and to be able to do the things that will make them productive members of society. In short, I want all the things for my children that any (good) parent wants for their offspring. That is one of my goals for this life that I've chosen (and, frankly, been lucky enough to be given). But, I'd be kidding myself if I said this was my only goal in life. I want to be a good mother. But I also want to be a good wife... and since I've chosen to be a Housewife... I want to be a good one of those too. Like any career chosen, I want to be good at what I do, and I want to like it, too. I may have a distance to go... but I'm getting there, I think.

Tuesday just gives me a chance to think about these things... it brings into focus what I think is a realistic way to look at stay-at-home parenting. I think it is unrealistic to think you can spend all your time at home playing with your children. We mommies (and yes, some daddies too) have a job to do... and managing a household is more challenging sometimes than managing a billion dollar corporation. That's what makes it the best career choice in my book.

And in case you're wondering... yes, I do play Candy Land, sometimes.