How I spend my day off or How women's lib has imprisoned me.

I'm sure I've talked about this before so feel free to move along if you're not a fan of reruns.

Am I the only working woman who feels that there's not enough time in your time off to do things right? If I really attend to the home front the way that I want to, there is very little leisure time for leisure. It's more like paid or unpaid time. I am fortunate to be able to report that I really do enjoy the homemaking part of my life so in some ways, this is leisure for me. At least it's time to pay attention to what really gives me the most satisfaction. But there still isn't enough of it.

A few weeks ago my mom and I spent the day bumming around in search of cookware for our new whole & homemade lifestyle. That was a fun day, out to lunch and being like a couple of 1954 housewives. But I can't do that on a regular basis because there are so many other housewife duties to tend to.

I need to do some baking, some cleaning, some organizing, some yard work, some shopping for food, produce, garden supplies...And there is a secret about shopping, you spend more if you've got less time for it. I don't even like to shop but I realize that if I am going to conserve time with one-stop-shopping, I'm not getting many bargains. Not to mention the utter luxury of antiquing or thrifting where I know treasures await-but I haven't an entire day to devote.

So here I sit on the morning of my day off already on the clock. I need to do many things and know already they can't all be done. I'm prioritizing so I'll get enough accomplished to keep the home front moving forward.

Sadly, what is lost along the way are the things that we have to decide are least productive. Sitting on the deck on a cool morning lingering over coffee. Bumming around with your mom or a friend just exploring what kind of stuff is out there-to buy or just admire. Long drives with no particular destination. Leisurely walks around the neighborhood. Hours in the library. Talking to neighbors over the fence.

Sure, all of these things get their time here and there, but so often they are too far down the list to be reached in a day off.

Today I will clean house, bake, do laundry and go to the grocery store. I will probably drop off my library books but to have time to linger and choose some new ones; not sure. I'll need to iron work clothes for the next few days. That will fill up this day off. And probably leave me pretty tired. That's another thing that falls off the list, rest. At least I've learned a lesson there. This is the very reason I retire to bed fairly early with a book. I know that rest cannot be taken off of the list.

Somehow, I don't feel very liberated.