Just A Little Homework . . .

Ack!!!

The little clock in the bottom-right corner of my monitor tells me it's 7:48 AM. Eastern. Which means I have only 12 minutes to finish this post and hit Publish.

My homework. Assigned by Professor Shelle. She even sent me an email reminder last night at some point during that monotonous Oscar brouhaha. I had to read my invite from Google Calendar just to remind myself of the topic. Something about who helps the kids with the homework.

Not me.

For, though very few people would know this unless I told them, I am a chronic procrastinator. In fact, you probably wouldn't even know that I sat here at . . . 7:52 . . . piecing this masterpiece together if I hadn't brought it up.

My excuse? I work well under pressure. Some of my best material - for my blog, for my university classes, for my grandmother's funeral - were all crafted under the weight of an impending deadline, often only a few short moments over the horizon of time.

So I'm not the best example. Even though it works for me in most cases.

When the kids get home, it is my wife who gathers them 'round her desk, makes them drag out their assignment notebooks, tallies up the list of requirements for the evening, and then ensures that they take their place at the table and crack their books. I am there for support, for when the algebra or lit assignment gets overwhelming. I read the books they are reading and do my part to make sure they are getting the material and that they are ready for whatever test or paper is coming due.

But the whip-cracking is all my wife.

7:57 . . .

[twiddling thumbs]

So. There ya go. Homework sucks. But my kids get it done thanks to my diligent and organized wife.

Me? I need coffee . . .

Working Mom, Stay-at-home Dad

Household roles are changing all the time and it's a new world when trying to find the right balance. Here's how things work for us.

I am actually pretty lucky in this department. I work full-time and hubby stays at home with our girls (ages 6 and 9). He gets them off to school, cooks all of our meals, washes and dries laundry, gets the garbage out, and does the outside chores as needed. I work, commute, do most of the cleaning, the dishes, the bills, the school meetings, etc. One trick, since I’m able to work from home one day per week, is using my lunch break to do dishes so that I’m ahead of the game for that evening. Our kids also have chores and when they get them done, it works amazingly well.

Sometimes we even have someone come in and clean once a week. This is mainly because my stress level is directly related to the messiness of the house. Since I work full-time and commute 2 hours per day, I don’t want to have to clean everyday when I get home. I’d rather be playing with my kids or watching their sporting practices/events.

We also split up the homework help into the subjects that we each enjoy the most. I help the girls with reading, writing and math; he helps them with science and history. We’ve been married for 11 years and this seems to work pretty well for us so far…that is, until the kids are smarter than us.

Our plan is not always perfect, but I feel that we’re a lot closer to 50/50 than most couples.

How do you balance the workload and make it work best in your relationship? Any suggestions to help others looking to find a better balance?

Thanks for reading.
I write over at Domestically Disabled