Fill 'er up!

Before I forget, I think I fixed the comments thing, so see if it'll let you leave a comment. Keep it clean though.

Alright now, that's it. I've had it. I don't know if I can handle this thing, this one thing that just absolutely drives me insane about being home all the time. It's terrible and I don't ever want to do it again. What is it you may ask, well for that answer you'll just have to be patient for a few more paragraphs.

When I worked 9-5 at the hospital, I had days when I just didn't feel like going into work. Now, I never called-in sick because of it, I just plodded on into work. Once I was there, I was usually glad to be there, not always, but most of the time. You know I think my job was like a lot of others', full of good and bad days.

Now, I've already told you how much I just flat out miss the culture of having a job. The timelines, the expectations, the social ins and outs, but I also enjoyed being able to take a day off. Guess what, when you're at home all the time, you don't really get a day off. When you do try to just push through the day without cleaning the house or keeping an eagle eye on the kiddos, you feel nothing but guilt towards your kids and spouse. It's like a responsibility you can't ever take a day-off from. I gotta tell you, it's a little stressful!

Unfortunately for my wife, I don't completely take a day off, but rather just cut corners. Like, the whole house doesn't get picked up, maybe just the kitchen. Or not all the laundry gets done, maybe just the whites. I've been doing this now for almost exactly one full year and I'm ready for a vacation, not an extended 3-day weekend, but an actual bonafide leave the house vacation. You know, I think I understand why housewives in Dallas get maids! Not because they're lazy, like I once thought (although I'm sure some fall into this category), I think it's because they're just tired of the responsibility.

This brings me to my newest nemesis. It's funny but my wife used to apologize to me for this one particular thing all the time back when I worked full-time. I guess I just didn't understand why it was so difficult for her to do this one particular item - now I know.

The one thing that just beats me to an ever-loving pulp every day is...cooking dinner. My gosh, it sucks the life-force right out of me. Sometimes I say to myself, "if I have to grill another stinkin' pork chop, steam broccoli and mash potatoes, I'm just going to admit myself to the funny farm". I'm serious when I say that I'm really not sure how much longer I can do this. Every week it's the same drill: thaw out meat, cook potatoes, steam veggies, cut up some fruit, etc., etc., etc. My wife has it totally right when she asked the question, "Why can't we just stick an IV in our arms and get our food that way? Like filling the car up with gas." I don't know how the happy homemaker of the 1950's did it being trapped in that space with pots boiling and ovens broiling. I want to pull my hair out.

I'm telling you, if I had my choice of hiring someone to clean the house or cook dinners, I'd take the cook in a heartbeat. No doubt about it. Don't tell anyone, but there are some days when I "accidentally" forget to make dinner just so we can go out to eat. It may be more expensive that way, but it helps me keep my sanity. I know she sees through my selective amnesia, but luckily, she knows where I'm coming from.

Tonight, well tonight was like all the other nights. I fell back on the old standards but with a slight twist: pasta, broccoli (of course), olive oil but I used precooked, just thaw it out under cold water for 5 minutes, shrimp. Aha, why the twist you ask; well I kind of "forgot" to thaw out chicken the night before. Now you'll have to pardon me, I need to take a nap.