So What Are You Doing Today?

I should know that these words are often code for "Can you do me a favor?" Really, I should have it all figured out by now. But somehow, the last two days I've been caught out surprised.

Today, a friend called and asked me to pick up a hot lunch for her son and bring it to the school. It's his birthday and she wanted to surprise him. Yesterday, a different friend wanted me to go by her house, use her hideakey, and rummage around until I found her daughter's gymnastics leotard and bring it when I went to pick the kids up from school. These are not really isolated incidents. I find myself at times picking up forgotten medicine, driving kids other than my own to dance and art and music, picking up friends' sick kids from school, and running by the store for the snack for OM practice that someone else was supposed to bring.

That's part of the deal of when you're primarily a stay-at-home mom, I guess. Everyone thinks you're available to do all the errands and the carpool and whatever needs to be done during the day. To be fair, many of my friends are teachers and it is basically impossible for them to leave work if something has been forgotten that morning. And honestly, I don't really begrudge the time. I tried working full- and part- time after my kids were born and I never really found the balance that worked. Instead, my being at home and picking up occasional freelance writing projects works for my family. Life is less hectic and less crazy without both of us working. And, although we have to be careful and watch what we spend, we do have the means to live on one income and save a bit for retirement and college and still take the occasional vacation. We're lucky.

And that means I have enough time and energy for what needs to be done for my family and a little bit more to share. That's actually something I celebrate. One of my good friends is resigning her teaching job to stay home with her son and homeschool him next year. As I dropped off his lunch today, I said, "next year, you'll be the one getting these frantic calls instead of making them. You watch." She just laughed......and said she couldn't wait.