WHY didn’t our mums tell us parenting was so boring? My goodness, how did they put up with the day to day mundane of it all? Being at home with all my children these past couple of years has been a huge eye-opener for me and how I came to start writing more.
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I’d be climbing the walls with boredom if I didn’t write as there really is very little I can get involved in in the few hours I have spare when some of the children are at school. Motherhood can be very limiting if you have aspirations.
They will have to wait until the kids are old enough to get themselves home from school - and by that point you may be too old to chase those dreams. The problem is I know what fun there is to be had out there in the world beyond the end of my driveway.
Boredom is a topic parents don’t talk about. Telling someone you are bored at home with the kids usually brings the retort: why don’t you go back to work?
This is exactly the response parents don’t want to hear because then you have to explain why you cannot just go back to work. Childcare costs are a big obvious reason among so many others.
Confessing to being bored at home opens the door to potential devaluation of parenting and the suggestion that we don’t value our children enough as well. So let’s not call it boredom. We’ll just say the novelty has worn off and hope it is a phase I’m going through.
Even as I write this, with two small children perched on my knees between me and the keyboard (multitasking), I’m still bored.
I know that a lot of people would like to be in my position and I am lucky to be able to stay at home with my children. I am grateful for being able to do it, and to be such a big part of my kids’ childhood.
Being at home with the kids seems to be considered a luxury and from the outside looking in. I admit this does look like a pretty good gig compared to a job one may not be in love with. However, the reality is the budget is tight, relationships are strained and you have nothing to talk about other than potty training.
Kids are a project that consumes all your time and often everything you know. Suggestions that I need a break from all this are unsurprisingly met with mirth. Seriously, don’t you get to watch television all day? Anyone who has ever watched daytime television would never say that.
A mental break from the mundane is needed - surely it’s not just me? I say all this knowing, and holding on to this, that all things in life change. When this will happen is yet to be circled on my calendar, however.
Until then I will enjoy every little milestone and try to make childhood as fun as I can because that is interesting.
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