Calgon take me away...

As I'm dropping my kids off at school my daughter asks me, "Are you going running today?" I look down at my t-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes and somehow resist the urge to reply, "duh!"

"My mom doesn't really go running," my son tells his friend in the backseat of the car. What? I listen closer to hear what he could possibly be saying. "Yeah," his friend agrees. "She probably goes home to sit in a bubble bath, eating chocolates and reads a book all day." They laugh at their joke. Actually, they are laughing at me.

"Why would I bother getting in my running clothes, if I'm only going to go home to eat chocolates in a bubble bath?" I challenge them, not amused at all, my voice bordering on hysterical. They are silent, they know enough to quit when I use that tone of voice.

I guess what makes me so mad isn't that they are teasing me about running. It's that my kids honestly think that I lie around all day and don't do anything. Do they ever wonder how their laundry somehow gets washed, folded and back into their rooms. How dinner is ready and waiting for them when they get home and someone---and it definitely isn't them---cleans the bathrooms and vacuums the carpets.

I know motherhood is a thankless job. But sometimes, it would be nice to feel a little appreciation every now and again...

2 comments:

Julie Ramsay said...

I just left for a week so Colin and the kids definitely know that I don't sit around all day. I think he was very happy to leave us and go back to work today. He had told me before he left that he would reorganize the kitchen cupboards and potty train the twins. Neither happened because he could barely keep up with the dishes and he couldn't get anything done...I know how he feels!

mindy said...

I'm glad you're back too...it was lonely with no e-mail for a whole week!