Why I Work

Two days into my child-free spring break, I've come to a profound realization about why I work outside the home:

To stay awake.

I've always wondered, with just a bit of scorn, what stay-at-home moms do all day when their kids are in school, and now I know. Although I had great plans to be very productive and finish a million projects around the house, the most I've accomplished is three long naps and a dent in the laundry pile. Oh, and I've also made progress in diminishing the dark circles that permanently adorn my eyes during the school year. So this is why Mom looked so much more youthful at my age than I do!

I simply cannot help myself. After dropping Chase off at preschool yesterday, I came home and drank a big cup of coffee, then promptly fell asleep on the recliner for a good hour or two. I woke up long enough to eat lunch, then sprawled on the couch for another snooze, and later found myself dozing at the computer but unwilling to relinquish my place to Caleb. Today, after refreshing myself with a morning nap, I managed to stay upright for the afternoon and get some laundry done, but that's about it. I've always recognized that I'm more organized and efficient with my time when I work, and I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that most of those projects I wanted to get done without distraction during my break will probably be relegated to some weekend in the future. Oh well. At least there will be plenty of weekends to get my work done: studies show that people who take naps live longer than people who don't.

And by the time I finally do die, my road to heck will be well-paved with all those good intentions.