I want to blog, but it’s so hard. So. Hard.
Time is fleeting, and filled up. Here’s what my balance looks like, for the past two weeks and the foreseeable future.
5:00 Alarm goes off. Hit snooze button.
5:09 Hit snooze button again.
5:17 Get out of bed before the alarm goes off again. Wash face, brush teeth, etc. Open dog door. Unload dishwasher and dish rack. Wash remaining dishes. If Baguette needs to take lunch to daycare, pre-heat thermos.
5:35 Finish morning ablutions.
5:45 Sit with Baguette so that Mr. Sandwich can get up and get ready for work. Catch up on Facebook and blogs in RSS reader. Check weather for day.
6:10 Get up and assemble Baguette’s breakfast, snacks, water bottle, and lunch (unless it’s one of the days for which we’ve pre-paid for hot lunch). Put ABA binder in bag (if it’s Monday, put sheets and blanket in bag). Assemble my breakfast and lunch, if I got them prepared the night before
6:30 Get dressed. Put insert in toilet seat for Baguette.
6:45 Take Baguette’s pre-selected clothes and stage them for getting her dressed. Choose different clothes if weather forecast has changed from night before.
6:55 Wake up Baguette. Comb her hair. Sit with her in bathroom. Get her dressed.
7:10 Leave for daycare. Take Baguette to her classroom and set out her breakfast and water. Drop off ABA binder, bag, jacket, and any other items needed for the day.
7:17 Drive to bus stop or to work, depending on whether I’m actually on schedule.
8:20 Arrive at office building. Buy breakfast or parts thereof, depending on what I brought.
8:30 Turn on computer and check email. Touch base with Mr. Sandwich, to let him know how Baguette’s morning went. Work.
4:30 Leave work.
6:00 Arrive home. Evening ABA session starts. Prep dinner. Participate in ABA.
7:00 Eat dinner. Participate in ABA. Check calendar to see if Baguette has hot lunch at school. Check weather for next day. Lay out my clothes for next day. Lay out Baguette’s pajamas.
8:00 Sign ABA provider’s timesheet. Give Baguette her bath.
8:15 Get Baguette out of bath and get her dressed for bed. Take Wicket outside one last time. Close dog door for the night. Feed Wicket.
8:25 Load dishwasher. Wash other dishes and put in dish rack. Play with Baguette. Check Facebook.
9:00 Go to bed. Read to Baguette. Hope she falls asleep by 9:30. Go to sleep ASAP after that.
The big difference from my balance in 2011 and 2012 is ABA. It’s a big difference.
And this isn’t just my balance. Mr. Sandwich’s day is not identical to this, but looks very similar. With a lot more laundry.
Photo by winnifredxoxo, via Flickr. Creative Commons.
My hat goes out to working parents. Seriously.
I figure we’re all working, one way or another. It’s the commute that’s the killer here.
Ouch. That commute is indeed a huge time sink. When you ride the bus, can you at least read or do something else for yourself?
Yes–it’s actually one of the chief attractions of riding the bus! (Not paying for parking and not having to be the one driving in traffic are two other chief attractions.) I do a lot of reading and catch up on social media. I really want to use that time to write, but lately I’m too tired to focus.
I was gonna say, if you’re riding the bus that’s great you have that opportunity to read or do social media stuff, take notes, etc. Definitely not possible with you in the driver seat lol. LA commuters have it hard! I’m lucky though; mine is 20 minutes, which is pretty darn good for this city.
I feel ya on the time crunch. For me, it was having the twins and pumping that take up my time. Big difference though is that I put them to bed early. The big kiddo is asleep by 8pm so I at least have 2 hours to myself before I have to conk out (so that’s when I usually cook, clean, laundry, etc).
I wish we could get Baguette to bed earlier, but she has always been a night owl!
It’s a constant battle, that search for balance. Especially when something new is added to the mix (which is…sort of like always, really….) hang in there!
I have confidence that it will all work out in the end, but in the meantime, it sure is exhausting!