...Takes A Day Off.

I'm a single mum of 2 and I'm also a solicitor, a business owner, I manage rental property and I have just started an online business. I'm what you might call busy. Like many other working mums I rarely get time to myself, but luckily I love all my jobs.

Despite my love of the various jobs and all the different hypothetical hats I get to wear on any given day, one of my true yearnings is to have one of those days when I can just stay at home and relax.

Well...hang on a minute....I'll relax on my day off subject to a few conditions, of course. The small print of "Mumtaz's Day Off" would read something like "I will stay at home provided..."

1. The children are at school (doesn't count if you're not a parent but please keep reading);
2. The dishes are washed;
3. The laundry is done;
4. The ironing is done;
5. The house is clean and tidy;
6. The pile of "I'll look at that later" post in the kitchen has been looked at;
7. The beds are made;
8. The bathroom(s) are clean;
9. The kitchen is clean;
10.The bills are all paid;
11.The dinner is planned & prepared if possible;
12. The car is clean;
13. The lawn is mowed;
14. The weeding is done;
15. The dishwasher has been emptied;
16. The breakfast dishes have been cleared away;
17. The grocery shopping is all done;
18. The dusting is done;
19. The kitchen floor has been mopped;
20. The plants are watered;
21. The shoes are polished;
22. The cereal from breakfast must be put away;
23. The breakfast table must be cleaned and wiped (when children sprinkle sugar on cereal why do they always sprinkle the floor and the table and their chair?)
24. Any bits of sewing (hems, buttons and curtains) is all up to date.
25. The errands are all done (did you pick up the dry cleaning?);
26. Those "I'll call them later" phone calls have all been made.

Wow. That's some day off isn't it?

On second thoughts maybe I'll just go into the office today. I guess I'll have to leave my manicure, pedicure, massage and facial for another day. Yes - I'm rolling my eyes along with you my dear reader.

The subtext of the long (and not exhaustive by any means) list above is that all around the country, in fact scratch that, all around the world women both with and without children (and a fair few of the fathers I daresay) heave a collective sigh of relief when they get to their desks at work, knowing that for the next few hours they can forget about the seemingly never-ending massive pile of chores, tasks and housework that awaits back home. At work, mums and dads get to delegate and share the load, we get to socialise or at least interact with other adults on subjects other than the school play or parent's evening or homework.

Perhaps most importantly, we get to feel appreciated for our efforts.

That's got to be easier than running a home surely?

Disclaimer: Please don't feel the need to tear strips off working parents as a result of reading this. This article is just for fun...everyone knows that households run themselves with no organisational input  required whatsoever.