I recently read an article about a woman complaining that she is fed up with bearing the burden of her household. She was annoyed that her family relies on her for everything; housework, packed lunch, making appointments, noting event dates, buying birthday and Christmas gifts. Her family expect her to have the answers all of the time.
Does this sound familiar to you, if not you then a family member or friend?
Sometimes we take on too much and we try to be “everything” to everyone. We delude ourselves into thinking that if we do not carry out a task, the heavens will fall. The reality is your child may have to eat school dinners if they forget to make their lunch AND pack it in their school bag or your husband may not have a gift to hand to his sister as you of course chose not to remind him.
I definitely take on too much which is entirely my choice. Nobody forces me or convinces me it is my role – I voluntarily pick up the slack. Part of the reason is I am a born organiser and I much prefer order to chaos. The other part is I see it as my responsibility to ensure our home life is smooth running.
One example, I used to pack my daughter’s school lunch, leave in the fridge for my husband to put in her school bag just before they left the house. One day, he forgot to pack it and had to return home – thankfully he was close by when the school officer called. Ever since then I pack her lunch just to ensure there is no chance of her leaving it at home.
I will not deceive you, I am known to complain when carrying out some of these tasks especially when tired. My husband on the other hand will pace himself, he will mow the lawn, rest then hoover or wash the dishes. I want to complete jobs one after the other then I wonder why I feel exhausted.
Generally I remember the birthdays of my husband’s family members. He usually relies on the Facebook reminder! I have the dates of our children’s school events/birthday parties fixed in my head and logged on my phone – I then raise a discussion on who will escort and collect them.
Life is busy but everyone needs time out during some point of the day which is why we aim to get our children, fed, bathed, read to and prayed to by 8pm – actually closer to 8.30pm!
How much are you in demand?
When and how do you cut off?
organisedlady 