Before Mommy Goes To Sleep

Only another mom knows that the path leading to her bed consists of many detours. The truth is, before mommy goes to sleep, many things have to happen first.

I’m reminded of this meme I saw once online, of men and women’s shopping patterns…

I’d say this also rings true for that magic hour between the kids being asleep and mommy going to sleep.

[bctt tweet=”Only another mom knows that the path leading to her bed consists of many detours.” username=”gatheringgraces”]

It isn’t that my husband doesn’t care. The good man tried to help as much as he could before he went to bed, really. Mostly, he used up the last of his remaining energy on spending time with all four kids. So I don’t blame him for having a simple, straight path to bed…

Before Daddy Goes To Sleep

• brush teeth (and other bathroom stuff…)
• turn on house alarm
• kiss wife goodnight
• get clothes for work ready
• set wake-up alarm
• hop into bed
• pray
• text goodnight to wife

To be sure, I could have this kind of bedtime routine too. However, all the things that need to be done will still be there in the morning – along with all four, wide-awake kids. No, thank you.

So that quiet, magical time when everyone but mommy is asleep, is the perfect time to do everything. Right?

So here’s the real deal:

Before Mommy Goes To Sleep

• Mommy sweeps the floor and gathers the trash. Let’s be honest, when a kid sweeps, only 1/4 of the stuff makes it to the trash can, but we praise them anyway – and leave the after-cleanup clean-up for when they’re asleep.  (So we wouldn’t hurt their little feelings because of mom’s OCD tendencies.)

• Mommy washes all the dishes. How does it come to be, that ALL the cups in the house gets used up by the end of the day? Seriously, if I don’t wash the cups, we’d all be drinking from the faucet using our hands.

• Mommy cleans the table and bench. Yes, the kids sometimes wipes them after dinner. But, you guessed it, mommy needs a do-over. Why? One word: boogers. I go over that table and that bench with Lysol Antibacterial Wipes because I never know what they wipe on them. For the sake of my family’s health, I MUST re-wipe the table and bench!

• Mommy writes her lesson plans. Homeschooling. I musn’t forget to do some planning, or the kids will run a-muck during school time tomorrow. This part alone could take me an hour to do. If only the kids knew how much planning goes into each of their homeschool day…

• Mommy pays the bills. Did I mention I’m the treasurer in my family too? Raise your hand if you are too. My husband gets a headache just thinking about the bills. He doesn’t even want to see them, unless he absolutely needs to. So, he trusts me to keep us from going bankrupt and thrown into the poorhouse. Bless his soul, the man fully trusts me with all of his money…;)

• Mommy thinks about food. As in, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now, I say “think” because I most likely will not start any meal prep and such that night. Are you crazy? No, dearie. I merely stand inside the pantry and plan everything in my head and hope something will come to me. Nothing ever does, but I try anyway.

• Mommy does the laundry. We are a family of six. The laundry is never-ending. Every night is laundry night. At least one load, maybe two, just to make sure nothing piles up. And, surprisingly, this is working out pretty well for us these days. (Maybe I’ll do a post later about my laundry “system”…)

• Mommy says her prayers. Thank God for everything I have. Pray for a better tomorrow. Say sorry for all my faults. Pray for others. Praise the Lord.

• BONUS: Mommy takes a shower. IF there’s enough time (for my hair to dry) and I still have energy left to keep my eyes open, I take a shower. Yay! So nice to NOT have to keep the door open, or worry about the little ones while I’ve got shampoo on my head. It’s honestly, a mini-vacation before bed.

• Brush teeth
• Go pee
• Drink water
• Go to bed

Phew! Finally, mommy goes to sleep!

Dear reader, can you relate to this routine? Is yours better, or worse?