The strange times when housework brings joy
After the week we've just had, I am finding much joy in cleaning my house, doing the washing, shopping for meals ahead of time - sometimes housework actually gives me joy!
This week has been one of those 'I hope we don't have too many of these' weeks. Our 10 yo has been on crutches after fracturing her ankle playing netball and our 9 yo was terribly unwell with the flu (at one point Scarlet Fever was suggested - scary). I've never seen her so unwell. She basically didn't leave the lounge for five days - hardly said a word, rarely ate. It was so strange when she joined us at the dinner table and was part of the conversation. Against this backdrop we fitted in a two hour visit to the hospital for the fracture clinic (cast now off thankfully). Plus a 3000 word uni assignment handed in on Monday and busy week at work for me (the NSS and then a library open day).
So I'm very thankful to my incredible, sacrificial husband who rearranged his life so I could do mine and the friend who dropped over multiple meals and the friend who looked after my little girl and those who put up my with my endless whingey SMS's!
I'm actually looking forward to going to the women's conference 'Equip' tomorrow - often I feel a bit weary at the thought of another day out, another conference. But I've missed so much church/Bible study with sickness, that the idea of a day of just reflecting and thinking about my spiritual life feels like a great treat.
I'm still wrestling through the issues of me working and the impact on the family. It was sooo hard to face work with a household of sickness, but thankfully I had a good week - lots of fascinating chats with clients (stories for another day) and felt like I was actually doing my job properly (which is not often the case - the stuff-ups often feel like they outweigh the successes).
As I said to a friend during the week, being a working mum is like childbirth. Everyone does it, but no-one really tells you how hard it is before you actually go through it.
This week has been one of those 'I hope we don't have too many of these' weeks. Our 10 yo has been on crutches after fracturing her ankle playing netball and our 9 yo was terribly unwell with the flu (at one point Scarlet Fever was suggested - scary). I've never seen her so unwell. She basically didn't leave the lounge for five days - hardly said a word, rarely ate. It was so strange when she joined us at the dinner table and was part of the conversation. Against this backdrop we fitted in a two hour visit to the hospital for the fracture clinic (cast now off thankfully). Plus a 3000 word uni assignment handed in on Monday and busy week at work for me (the NSS and then a library open day). So I'm very thankful to my incredible, sacrificial husband who rearranged his life so I could do mine and the friend who dropped over multiple meals and the friend who looked after my little girl and those who put up my with my endless whingey SMS's!
I'm actually looking forward to going to the women's conference 'Equip' tomorrow - often I feel a bit weary at the thought of another day out, another conference. But I've missed so much church/Bible study with sickness, that the idea of a day of just reflecting and thinking about my spiritual life feels like a great treat.
I'm still wrestling through the issues of me working and the impact on the family. It was sooo hard to face work with a household of sickness, but thankfully I had a good week - lots of fascinating chats with clients (stories for another day) and felt like I was actually doing my job properly (which is not often the case - the stuff-ups often feel like they outweigh the successes).
As I said to a friend during the week, being a working mum is like childbirth. Everyone does it, but no-one really tells you how hard it is before you actually go through it.
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