Monday, September 04, 2006

Earth Mother I aint

Honestly, I feel buggered. Much of Sunday was spent making teatimes: a double batch of ginger snaps and a billion beignets in my little mini-beignet machine that turned out to be a waste of space. Good thing it only cost 15€. In the end, it looked like I might be standing there until Doomsday making the wretched things, so got out the deep fat fryer and completely ruined any hopes I'd had at making a 'healthy' beignet (donut). I dolloped in spoonfuls of the mixture instead of teaspoonfuls which meant I knocked off a few millenia waiting for them to cook. At the end of it, my legs could barely stay upright.

I have a day off today, and, it being the first day back to school, thought it would be lovely to have everyone home for lunch. Visions of being a SAHM (stay at home mum) sprang to mind, conjuring up images of making a tasty, wholesome lunch for the crew, running a few errands, and working on my book. All stress-free, efficient and beautifully timed. Ha! Some hope.

It's really hot today, so all outings are undertaken feeling sweaty and uncomfortable. Things started well and the boys got to school on time, feeling both excited and anxious. The schools were awash with SUVs and anxious mummies and daddies, especially at the Maternelle where lots of little kiddies would be starting their very first day ever at school. My youngest, going into his final year there, was a pro, and sauntered up casually, not holding my hand. His teacher knows him already, so was able to welcome him by name and switch him into school mode with practiced ease.

I walked down with my eldest and NewFriend, met Girl-over-the-road outside the school, and waved him in, avoiding the SUV-laden road and carpark. It must be all of a 7-minute walk to the school which is marvellous as he'll be able to go there with his friend and I won't need to be ferrying him around the whole time. This has saved me an hour in the car per day.

Things then speeded up, with me running errands and dashing home just in time to make a quiche and tomato tart and throwing them in the oven before it was time to collect my youngest again. Then my eldest, then waiting for 25mins outside the lycée, which meant my youngest was running late and had to gobble his lunch before being taken back to school. Then my eldest who had to find his own way, on foot, with me in tow, and it's well over 30°C outside.

Mind you, my eldest will not be having lunch at home again. It's more than I can stand having him tell me he doesn't like what's on his plate twice a day. He can eat at the cantine and that's that!

I am just recovering from all this now and have a couple of hours before, ding ding, it's all systems go again. Maybe I'll get some work done on my book! Or... maybe a snooze.

Anyone need a mini beignet machine?

2 comments:

  1. Hilarious and so comforting to know that years go by, but the problems are still exactly the same.

    Stay at home Mums also have to"proove" what a good job they do, in view of the terribly diminuishing remarks they get from all round....and odten from their own team (not wanting what's been cooked is a good example).

    A staying at home Mum is a TERRIBLY difficult job to do, whilst acting cool, still keeping up with the Jones's intuellectually
    looking great, and having a consortium of "bosses" (kids, husbands, cats, dogs, horses etc.), only to hear over and over again "that you don't earn money - so......

    If I got the chance again, I'd stay working at the hospital, and give them all "plastique wrapped teatime's" - leave them at l'etude, never tidy up, go to the hairdresser or Kung Foo after my work, and not do the ironing for my husband.

    By doing that I would have had a fat chef de clinique's pension to live on.....and my lovely children, all now married and parents themselves would stop looking at me and patting me on the head like a "simple minded" Yorkshire Terrier!!

    My admiration for modern girls who work and do nice houses, and look super is immense. At my time, we all had household help, (fortunately becoz my husband as very many others of the same age group did not even know where the fridge was!!! Or which schools his kids went to either.)

    HE TOLD ME ONCE THAT HE COULD NOT WASTE HIS TIME ON SUCH SECONDARY DOMESTIC ISSUES!!!!!

    So to cut a long blog short, bravo modern girls, but bravo too for pointing out how awfully difficult it is to do the job of being a mum at home! I'm pink with pleasure that someone noticed it!

    Diane.

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  2. I must say, it's a lot more restful at work! But then I compromised between being a SAHM and a career girl by doing a mundane job, but only doing it from 9-5 so I can be there for the boys out of school. No meetings, no over-time, no hassle. No intellectual stimulation either, but hey, you can't have everything. I go to work to live, and my life is with the boys.

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