My kids have been out of school for a full five days now and I am EXHAUSTED!! In my mind summer vacation means play & relax. Somehow I forgot that I have my regular chores to do in addition to taking care of five kids (yes, FIVE-- my neighbor, Kelsie, seems to have adopted me as her second mother). By the end of the day I can barely function because I am so tired-- physically and emotionally. In order to get more energy and hopefully not be so grumpy I have found myself craving caffeine. I'm usually a strait water drinker, but a little caffeine sounds really good right now, and I'm frustrated by that. Today David got up early, played basketball, put in a full day of work, and still had energy to mow the lawn and jump on the trampoline with the kids!! It's true that I did get up kind of early, lift weights, spend two hours at the pool, fix the kids lunch, tidy the house, grocery shop, and make dinner before I hit the wall, but the point is, I hit the wall!! I feel like there is something wrong with me that I can't function to the capacity I feel like I should. Of course, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone else is functioning at the level they want as well. Since my caffeine cravings I've noticed lots of "energy" and "power" drinks on the market. Maybe I'm not the only one struggling to keep up. Maybe there isn't anything wrong with me, but with our culture. I've seen a few programs where people from different countries comment on American culture and they all seem to share the opinion that we are too rushed and that we don't know how to relax. That seems ironic to me because it seems that with all of our prosperity we would be more able to relax than people around the world. But maybe it's our prosperity (or the pursuit of it) that is keeping us so tired. Or, maybe it's just that managing a household while taking care of five very young kids IS exhausting.
About Me
- Jessi
- Mom of five lovely daughters, wife of one dashing man. Born in Utah, grew up in Oregon, live in Georgia.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Jess, no wonder you were tired! Your day was packed! Trust me, nothing is wrong with you. I think you should be praising yourself for all you did! I think both of your conclusions are true--managing a household and taking care of five kids IS exhausting, and we Americans do focus too much on work and not enough on living the abundant life or caring for the lives of our souls! You are doing fantastically.
Taking care of TWO KIDS is exhausting!!!! I always think something is wrong with me too though because my energy is just GONE by the end of the day. I even went to the doctor last year and he took me in his room and said, "Nothing is wrong with you...I get the same energy complaint from every woman who comes to my office your age with kids the ages of yours." I wasn't sure how to take that, but I guess it's normal...but still hard!
Post a Comment