The Juggling Act

I couldn't wait for this past Saturday to arrive because I had a hot date with a doctor--a RugDoctor steam cleaner, that is.



I couldn't wait to steam clean the carpets for a couple reasons, the biggest one being that my husband would have to take Ethan and James out of the house for several hours so I could get the job done. Finally, some alone time!



It must sound pathetic that the only way I can get some time away from the kids is to do a big chore like steam clean the carpets. And that's really not true. Terry is pretty good about watching the kids so I can go on a hike, go out to dinner with friends or go scrapbooking. No, the biggest reason I was so excited to pull a 70-lb vacuum across our carpet was that without the kids around, I could complete this task with no interruptions.



Trying to get stuff done while constantly being interrupted by my children has been one of the hardest aspects of parenting for me. My life became a juggling act as soon as Ethan was born--fold a couple of pieces of clothing, then pick up him up to nurse. Or stir the pot on the stove with one hand as I held a whimpering James. Or drive down the highway and change the music on the radio and pass back the sippy cups to irate Ethan and James--all at the same time.



I've found myself letting my kids get away with stuff just so I could get something done. The other day, for example, I had a quiet moment, so I tried to download some new music on my iPod. I just got the iPod connected to the computer and began downloading the CD when Ethan and James found me. Ethan got on our other computer while the CD is still downloading and wanted to draw pictures in the Microsoft Paint Program. Here we go, I thought. After a few moments he yelled, "Mommy, help me save this picture!" I stop everything to hit "save as" on his computer. Then he lost interest in drawing, and found some rubber bands in the desk drawer. "Hey James," he said, "Let's cut up these rubber bands with these scissors!" Uh oh, not a good idea, but the CD was taking forever to download and I didn't want to start all over again another time. Soon bits of rubber were all over the floor. My blood pressure started to increase wondering if they would start a sword fight with the scissors. Finally, the CD is done, and I grab the scissors out of their hands. "That's not a good idea," I said. "But Mommy, you were letting us do it before!" I sheepishly put the scissors away, thinking I should have downloaded the music after Ethan and James were in bed.



But this past Saturday, I did not have to make any guilty justifications to get something done. I cheerfully waved to Terry and the kids as they left the house, put on my iPod, and got to work. After five hours of non-stop vacuuming, my back was killing me, but my floors were clean. This was the first time I got something done in years without hearing a chorus of "Mommy! Mommy!"



Of course, as soon as Ethan and James entered the house, it started all over again. "Mommy, I want a snack!" I tell them to not eat on the newly cleaned carpet as they begin to walk on it holding their bowls of cereal. Bits of crackers and crumbs soon found their way into the carpeting. That's OK--it gives me the excuse to make a date with the "doctor" again in a few months.