Monday, January 18, 2010

The inept throwback.

I am an inept throwback to the 1950's housewife. Our grandmothers just seemed to know how to be domestic engineers with flair. I could blather on and on about how it's the most important job known to man or ramble almost incoherently about how it's a thankless job it (especially since my 9 month old has kept me up all night and woken up for the day at 5 am that last 3 nights). I love being a Stay at Home Mom but I am constantly laughing at the fact that I am the one running this household. For the most part, I love this job and in my heart I want to keep the house tidy. I wish that I could throw together an elaborate dinner made from scratch every night. In my heart, the kids are always clean and dressed. The reality is that most of the time they have remnants of lunch on their faces and Griffin spends the afternoon running around on the couch in his underwear while a store bought casserole cooks in the oven.

It's comical that I am the one in charge of the laundry because I am challenged when it comes the completing the task. We typically have two laundry baskets in the living room full of clean and unfolded clothes. We simply select the clothes we want to wear from the baskets. We spend some time searching for various items and nine times out of ten, Griffin goes to school in socks that don't match. My husband goes to work with two different socks on all of the time. It's awesome.

It's ridiculous that I am in charge of keeping the house tidy because I am the messiest person on the planet. Once, in High School, my best friend was rummaging through my drawers and found a half eaten Snicker bar stuck to a pair of tights. I wasn't even ashamed when she pointed it out to me. I just shrugged and went on with my life.

I adore the concept of the 1950's housewife as absurd and outdated as it may seem. The whole notion of running a smooth household is a mystery to me. I just love the idea of creating this wonderful space for your family to live in. I love the romantic notion of being this well groomed woman that has her sh*t together and drives to the grocery store in fancy shoes. Yet...I can laugh my inability to ever be that woman.

As I float through my home and look at all of the crap that needs to be done to keep it nice and tidy I am not willing to make the sacrifices needed to have that perfect home. I would rather let the dishes sit in the sink and play Go Fish with Griffin instead. I would rather let the laundry sit unfolded as we dance around the living room. The mopping can wait as I sit on the floor and play with Koen. My home is not perfect but in my heart, I am the type of Woman who can do it all. In reality, not so much.

Thank God my family loves me despite the fact that I am domestic joke.

Please scroll down to see the winner of Freakshow Friday

16 comments:

Unknown said...

OH I so feel ya on this one. I walk through my house and see all the things I need to do and get overwhelmed. Although I do have a thing about the laundry. I take it right out of the dryer and fold it up or hang it up and put in the appropriate person's baskets( each kid has their own) they even have their own spot on the rack in the laundry room. My biggest pet peeve is socks, I LOATHE folding those lol. Often my mom comes over and folds them with me so I don't get so frustrated..

Lee said...

You are a 2010 perfect housewife. Playing with the kids and being a mom while not having the perfectly clean house.

June said...

If Momma is happy, everyone is happy.

My mom was a clean freak and I tend to have a few of these hang-ups but learned to let go because the control-freak bitch I became was making everyone around me miserable.

There is laundry sitting in the dryer since yesterday and I am about to do the "warm-up" cycle for the third time to get the wrinkles out!

Unknown said...

Well, then we could each use a little of the other...because I'm kind of the opposite. I get a little obsessed with keeping up around the house and I'd rather let my kids entertain themselves than have to do it on my own. Don't get me wrong--I do read to them and they love to bake/cook with me and we eat meals together, etc., but I do not and cannot cater to them all the time. I tend to feel more out of control when my house is out of control. And that is not good for me and my sanity, LOL!

Unknown said...

p.s. so maybe you can help me learn to relax a bit? and i can help you fold your clothes?
;-)

Rosy Revolver said...

Balance. It's all about the balance.

And you got that goin' on, sister.

xo

PS- I'm with June. My laundry tends to get washed twice, because I always forget it's in there until a day or two later when it's a big mildew-smelling mess.

Julia said...

I know exactly what you mean. I have a sink full of dishes to wash, as usual and, as usual, I'm reading blogs. Reading blogs is so much more fun!

Anonymous said...

Who needs a clean house anyway...germs give you a better immune system and really who wants to wear fancy shoes to the grocery store?! Thnak goodness, we're not 1950's housewives cuz it would suck!

Liz Mays said...

I think you're actually making the right choices here! Your kids are far more important than finding a pair of socks!

Existential Waitress said...

I love this post! I used to bust my ass all day to ensure that the laundry was done, the floors freshly mopped, dinner prepared and right on time. But then I think I just got burnt out on it and now we're lucky if we have clean socks on a given day. And you know what? my husband says that he likes me BETTER this way when I'm not being a cleaning spaz all the time b/c he thinks I'm more relaxed. And my sink is full of dishes even as I write this. LOL.

Matty said...

Don't compare yourself to others. Keep your house according to your own standards and tastes, and that's all that counts. The lived in look works for me too.

Amanda {My Life Badly Written} said...

in the middle of compiling a post very similar to this. I chose the job of Mummy not Housekeeper - why do they have to go hand in hand unless your mega rich and can afford hired help!

Your children will thank you for being with them over mopping the floor!!!

Amanda {My Life Badly Written} said...

Oh forgot to say that my towels have been out on the line for 2 days now as it has been 42 degrees C here in Perth so they are probably all nice and crispy now!!

Nobody is perfect and if they think they are they are lying to you and themselves!!!

Richard said...

I love it! You're so totally right to not even try to do the whole 1950s housewife, thing. I'm sure it was some horrible idea designed to make women feel inadequate.

Tracie said...

I'd rather ignore the kids and the house and blog/read/watch tv all day.

PS I do love the iconic look of the
50's housewife. If that makes any sense.

Unknown said...

I finally toppled the tower of laundry and clutter. Wanna know how? I gave everything to goodwill. My kids have 8 shirts and 2 jackets each. Two pair of pants and two shorts. We wear sandles until it hits the 30's and in south Texas it is rare. Each of us has three pair of socks. I LOVE IT!!!