Sick and tired. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. Blah. I feel sick, and no, I’m absolutely, positively 100% sure I’m not pregnant. At least that would give me a reason for feeling so crappy. No, this is just garden variety doldrums. I feel hopeless and listless and groggy and all I want is to be left alone. For a few days. But no, I have three little kids, a husband who is looking for work, and a home to manage.
It’s the same old refrain. Nothing new under the sun. I can’t pick up the house as fast as the kids wreck it, I don’t have the energy to deal with them properly, I yell, they ignore, add more, rinse, repeat.
So I’m on strike. I actually took Jeffrey to the second-hand store on Saturday because that’s HOW BADLY I don’t want to do laundry. He got two shirts and two pair of shorts. That gets me to Monday. I can make it that long.
I wash all the clothes in the house. Fold them, put them away. It takes an entire day. Within two days, everyone has rifled through their clothes and it’s a disaster again. What exactly did I just spend a day of my life doing? Why? And I get to do it again? And again? for years? *SIGH*
Not feeling a lot of personal satisfaction in my role.
Same thing with food prep, meals, the play room, the yard, even my own hair. I do it today, and holy crap, I have to do it again tomorrow? And again? For the rest of my life?
See? Not feeling my chipper self. I’ve medicated myself with some Haagen Dazs- yeah, all that does is make me really really sick. And fat. And tired. Whoo hoo.
Took the kids swimming at the local pool last night. It was more fun than anticipated- until it was time to go. Abby and Bean both had simultaneous reactor-core melt-downs. Tired babies, too much sun, late dinner, tired mama and daddy = Yay! Let’s go do it again.
Sometimes I just want to run away.
Dandelion Mama 
Okay then, but you’ll have to take me with you. I’ll be on my porch with a back pack, sitting on a cooler full of diet coke. We can split gas.
Ah, but remember what Milo says about the Doldrums: “Don’t say there’s nothin’ to do in the Doldrums!” Here’s cheers to better days, oh wonderful lady. 🙂
Ah, I’m feeling you. Except I am pregnant, and sick. And if I put off hte laundry long enough Mr Renn will start it. Sometimes starting it is the hardest part. (I still have to do the rest of it though, but once he announces a load is in the washer I feel I have to follow through)
I commend you on leaving the house to go swimming and 2nd hand shopping though. My doldrums don’t leave me with enough initiative to leave the house. Ever. If I didn’t have piano lessons to teach I might never ever do my hair or makeup lately.
And I feel EXACTLY the same way about having to get ready and *do* my hair every day. It gets old really fast when you’re in the doldrums. Only thing that seems to help there is getting a new hairdo or color or product to try or something, but neither you nor I is in the position right now to try that trick.
Sucks, huh?
Becky- dude, if you’re bringing the cooler of diet coke, I’ll buy the gas. Glad I’m not the only one.
Thanks Amanda. I don’t know who Milo is, but it sounds good.
Em- yeah, it sucks, no two ways about it. I’d love to have my hair colored and highlighted- not gonna happen any time soon! Oh, I might sell a child for a pedicure. (that’s a joke! mostly.)
Hope you get to feeling better.
I wish I could come over and whisk you away for a girls weekend where I would color and do your hair for you and you wouldn’t have to hear any whining/crying/melt-down-ing or see a disastrous house for a while.
Alas, I cannot. But I still really want to. I’m so sad you have the doldrums.
And I also feel the same way about getting ready and doing my hair. So usually lately? I don’t.
The idea of running away from home occurs to me regularly. Not forever. Just for a few quiet days. And some sleep. And a maid to make the bed every morning. And maybe some room service. And then some more sleep.
Then maybe a pedicure. And some more sleep. Maybe some ocean.
So anyway…I know what you mean.
When I come up, mani and pedi’s on me.
Milo is the hero of the hilariously wacky novel “The Phantom Tollbooth” who, in his reluctant adventures, ends up in a land called “The Doldrums.” Jeffrey is the perfect age to hear this as a read-aloud . . . (yum, a trip to the library)!
Whooo! I love the Library!
I can see how your creating frenzy from last week and a long day at the pool would easily lead to an episode of doldrums. I am having a very hard time motivating myself to do anything but play PackRat on Facebook right now. Laundry, I hate it!
Doldrums, funny word isn’t it? I am going to the library to check out “The Phantom Tollbooth.” It sounds wonderful and thank you Deborah!
Coming from a family of 4 wild animal children and one super pushed to the limit single parent, I can tell you that children can survive all day in one change of clothes. Explain to the that this is it for the day, if they get messy they stay messy until bedtime. It worked with us and when it got really bad, a good run through the sprinkler in clothes did the trick. Water’s cheap and let them pay all day outside with access to the hose. I guess that’s not a good global warming, conserve when you can answer, but sometimes it’s mom that needs to be conserved.
Jen, didn’t we JUSt have this discussion the other day? Seems to be universal. As is the need to play PackRat all day…
So is your central air working Tracy? Because if it is, I just might come over until ours is fixed!!!
Thank you for dropping those sugar packets today! You are a sweetheart Mo!
Hi, Tracy, I pop in here every so often and just wanted to say hey. Hope you feel better soon, and if not – there’s always more Haagen Daz (chocolate/peanut butter is currently my flavor of choice).
Mo, come on down- the air is great and the living is easy… (Bwa-hahaha!)
ECS- thanks for popping over- I like it when people do that. My current flavor is Honey Bee, with a side of Coconut Seasame Brittle Crunch and dollop of white chocolate raspberry swirl. Sigh…..
Tracy, of you find anyone to buy your children let us know. I would be willing to give someone a buy-one-get-one-free for our children. (might even throw in the third as an added bonus!)
Tracy..the trick is (and stay with me here) LESS CLOTHES. I finally got so sick of having SO MUCH laundry to do that I gave each child 4 outfits (one church outfit) and that was it. My laundry shrunk considerably. I ended up washing everything twice a week, but since it was only one or two loads, I never got too behind. This plan works best in the summer and with children that don’t care what they wear.
It was my solution to facing the ever growing piles. ALso, this year, Lu starts to do laundry.
That and happy pills.
If we add my child to yours (and we both know who I am talking about) maybe we can get you a mani-pedi. You think?
Ah, I’ve had these days and weeks! I understand where you’re coming from. My favorite part is your method for dealing with it all – “I’ve medicated myself with some Haagen Dazs.” Chocolate and ice cream together… all is right with the world, at least for 5 minutes, no matter what else is going on!