A Working Mom’s Choice to be Lazy

This is a true story. The other night, I went to the gym later than I had hoped to and I just didn’t feel like cooking. I picked up Panera, brought it home to the husband and we sat and ate while our son ran around the house (he’d already had his pb&j—don’t judge) and watched the end of an episode of Family Feud. It went like this:

Steve Harvey: “Name something in your house that you clean once a week.”
Contestant: “Toilet.”
Steve Harvey: “Survey says! 42 people!”

Once a week? I thought to myself. That’s how often I should be cleaning the toilet? Well, oops.

As I finished watching the show, I couldn’t focus because I couldn’t remember cleaning my toilet… So I thought about it. And thought about it. And I remembered. Christmas break. Before we had company for Christmas Day. A month and a half ago.

Then I gagged a little and wrote a note to myself to clean the damn toilet.

I’ve written before about how, for me, Home Is Where the Mess Is. True enough, my classroom and my desk at work are nowhere near the tidiest in the school. However, I tend to straighten up my classroom and desk at the end of each day to a presentable condition. I tend to throw out recycle extra copies or papers my students have chosen not to take back into their possession. I purge quite a bit. I line books up in the bookcases. I wipe student desks with Clorox wipes because OMG THE GERMS. But my classroom is not perfect. Just presentable.

Like quite a few areas of my life.

I started thinking about the things that go by the wayside because I’m a working mom. Concessions that I make while I’m working that I don’t make when I’m off from work.

And I realized something: I choose to be lazy.

My house, for example… Well, parts of it are presentable. The living room/baby’s play room/baby’s bedroom are more than presentable. They are non-negotiable. They have to be clean so the baby can breathe, so I can sit on the couch and grade papers or watch television in peace. I clean or tidy those areas most often because that is where we are and where visitors are the most. I also clean the kitchen fairly regularly, because we cook and I can’t stand the smell if we don’t make sure to clean up and wash dishes. But our bedroom? Dog hair on the carpet. Shoes strewn all over because I just can’t make it to the closet. The bathrooms? They get a little wipe down every once in a while. Certainly not a once-a-week deep clean.

Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

Another kind of random example for me is the mail. My husband has always gotten and gone through our mail. If there is something in the mail specifically addressed to me, he puts it aside or hands it to me. But other than that, I don’t go through the mail. So when a good coupon or an insurance card mistakenly gets thrown out, I throw a baby fit. And then I realize, I chose to be lazy. I chose to be ignorant of the mail. So I can’t complain.

Sometimes it takes big events like a Christmas party or my son’s insurance card getting thrown away to make me realize I have to be cognizant of all the goings-on, I have to be proactive, I have to get and stay organized.

But seriously, laziness and ignorance feel so much better because who has the brain power for everything? Certainly not this girl.

So, tell me, are there any areas of your life where you choose to be “lazy” because of your working mom status? Are there concessions you make and things you let go by because you just don’t have the time or brain power? Please share!