What Do I Do All Day Long?

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

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I LOVE THIS!  So funny and very true.  Some days it would be nice to just chill and read a book.  Maybe when she is older.  I love the questions some people have asked me.  Questions like:

"Don't you get bored being a stay-at-home Mom?"
"What do you do all day long?"
"Is it nice to have all of that free time?"
"So, now that you are home, I bet you watch a lot of soap operas.  Which one is your favorite?"

In return, I really want to ask, "Have you been around any child for more than 20 minutes?  Because, obviously, you don't have any." 

But, I try to be nice and say, "No, I don't get bored.  She keeps me busy."  If they press for more information or get snotty about it and require more of an answer, I give them a rundown:

"If the TV is on, which most days it isn't, you will find it turned to Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid, Clifford or Arthur.  Sophia loves books.  We read a lot.  We play.  Sophia loves music.  We sing.  She also likes it when we dance in the kitchen.  We do her physical and eye therapy exercises several times throughout the day.  I feed her.  I bathe her.  I change around 10 diapers a day.  I wash and rewash her glasses when she has yet again taken them off or put them in her mouth.  We call Daddy to say hi while he is at work, which they both LOVE.  She is a phone talker and he loves his little gal!  Umm...what else...Oh yeah!  I go to the bathroom.  And, if I'm lucky and she takes a nap longer than 30 minutes (Yes, she is a horrible napper!), I try to do something like load the dishwasher, do the laundry or I shower.  And, if I still have a minute or two...Oh wait...that never happens." 

That usually shuts them up.

But, you know what?  Even though life gets crazy and she is a lot of work, I wouldn't have it any other way.  She is the sweetest little gal in the world and I love her.  I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to stay home, experiencing her day with her instead of hearing about it from daycare.  I finally have my dream job and I'm loving it!