Wednesday, July 3, 2013

A Day At Home

There are periods in a homemaker's life when things are more hectic than usual. It can be due to stress or illness, or some other things. Sometimes it's our own fault because we cram our lives with activities to the point that we neglect our domestic duties. There are but so many hours in a day, and as one is getting older, one has less energy and needs more rest.

I remember once reading an article with a title "Your Home Is A Mess And So Is Your Life" and found it to be true, though it's something we often tend to forget. However, it can also be vice versa, when your life is a mess, you have less energy and inclination for housework. On the other hand, housework can have a therapeutic effect as it calms your nerves.

Sometimes, the only thing you need is a quiet day at home without any visitors or appointments which you can entirely devote to housekeeping. I had such a quiet day today and I enjoyed it immensely. My life has been pretty chaotic lately, due to the circumstances chiefly beyond my control (sickness in the family etc), and as things are getting back to normal it feels like waking out of a bad dream.

I came to conclusion that the famous female capacity for multitasking is another feminist myth. Yes, it's true that as women we often have to do several things at once, but in order to have anything done properly you must concentrate on it and have enough time to finish the task, otherwise you'll be constantly frustrated. I also decided that I should stop trying to be a superwoman, like the one I keep reading about on (some) blogs.

You know, the one who simultaneously homeschools five children at a university level, keeps an immaculate house, cooks three delicious meals every day, bakes her own bread, runs a highly profitable home business, grows her own vegetables, and finds time for a daily workout at a gym, too! I keep reading about such fantastic ladies but I have never met one in a real life.

Now, come to think of it, it's mostly certain men's blogs which put forward such an image, which makes me realise how lucky I am that I have a husband who just accepts me as I am, an average 30+ housewife who sometimes fails to cook dinner on time and can spend an hour gossiping on a phone. He even doesn't object to my sunbathing in the garden with a friend (it only happens occasionally though because normally we don't have that much sun in Holland:).

Well, I'm aware that my testimony will probably disappoint some of my readers, because we tend to idealise things and people, especially those we know little about, but so be it:) And now I'm off to make dinner, otherwise it will be one of those days when we have to order a takeout!:)

3 comments:

  1. I pretty much quit reading blogs that are run by "superwomen". I prefer the ones that encourage and are uplifting, but don't place unnecessary burdens on me. :)

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    1. Same here! I have enough things on my mind, the last one I need is an inferiority complex:) Also just reading about so much activity makes one tired:)

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  2. A lady at my work just won a prestigious national award for all her volunteer work. I happen to know her personally and she is very nice. However, as I read through the list of volunteer work and accomplishments she had over the last year it made me sad. Nowhere was it mentioned that she was married. With the huge list, I wondered if she still was married and how close they could possibly be with her volunteering so much time to so many causes. I do love your blog because you behave so rather normal. It's refreshing that there are others of us out there who do not feel the need to be superwoman to the world.

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