Serving My Time

I've been a wily momma, laying/lying low and avoiding school commitments thus far.  Committees schmittees.  I made it to the 10th day of school until I received "the email", a sweetly worded missive from another momma who is already overworked and underappreciated, asking me if I would be team parent for the younger daughter's middle school volleyball squad.  That's the problem with modern technology, the inability to dodge getting involved since there's no way you can pretend to have missed a phone call, email and text.  

This is my last 9 months to be a total slug housewife, doing only what strikes my fancy, since I intend to return to the workaday world once we repatriate.  Now that the girls are 11 and 17, I've got a good thing going on.  As long as I keep everybody in freshly laundered underwear and the house clean enough to keep us from contracting the plague or some form of flesh-eating bacteria, then it's all good.  Food in the pantry and fridge is another thing the natives insist upon around here, but I can always save the day with a call to the local pizza joint or Chinese take out place.

Honestly, I think stay-at-home moms are geniuses.  When the kids start coming along, ladies quit their jobs because of germy daycares and having to miss work for sick kids and husbands who don't pitch in to do their part.  Ten zillion diapers later, the little ankle biters finally leave the nest for kindergarten.  Yippee - free childcare for 7 hours every day and a bus to pick them up so you can still be in your old robe as they shuffle out the door! By the time kids get to the point where they can pour their own cereal and crank up the DVR or video games all by themselves, mommas have figured out housewifery can be a pretty cushy gig while husbands are just pleased the wife is off their back about helping fold clothes or contributing to meals other than the occasional spin at the barbecue grill.  Once all of the kiddos are in school, housewives have paid their dues and hit easy street.

The thing is, I don't wanna be a resident here on easy street and it shows.  There's no point in pretending my husband would suddenly fall for a bit of smoke and mirrors about how I've become pleased as punch to scrub toilets and clean up the dinner dishes, continuing this hausfrau ruse gig.  If I was the June Cleaver or Olivia Walton type that just loved the role of domestic goddess, then I would no doubt continue in that role.  The truth is, I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GET BACK TO TEXAS SO I CAN RESUME MY TEACHING CAREER!  Cheers to all the ladies who love staying at home, but I'm not even remotely tempted to join that club.  Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go, and that is just fine by me.