Thursday, May 19, 2016

What I've Learned So Far


Now that a month has passed, I feel like I've finally wrapped my head around my new reality. The experience, so far, has been positive. I feel happy each day; more relaxed than before, but also more in tune with my own mind. The transition period is over, the noise has died down, and I can think clearly again. Not only that, but I'm making some surprising observations:


Time Flies When You're Doing Chores
Whenever I used to take a day off from my full-time job, I would always marvel at how slowly the day seemed to go by. 'Is it really only 10:30?' I would ask. 'How is that possible?' But now that I'm home everyday, time seems to have sped up. I don't know if it's a case of me being inept at household chores or just misguided about how long things are supposed to take, but I'm struggling to meet my own expectations. Laundry, for example. We do laundry once a week. Kate used to do it on Sundays, but now I've taken it on. Initially, it never seems like a very daunting or time-consuming task, but it always drags out. You sort, and wash, and dry, and hang, and unhang, and fold, and put away. And that's only laundry! For two adults! I'm also washing dishes and baking and doing lunch prep and tidying the rest of the apartment. Plus I'm writing, and working on our website, and taking my daily walks. When I look at the clock now, it's because I hear Kate's key in the door and I can't believe the day is over already.

Running a Website Involves a Lot More Than Writing
Kate and I officially launched our website (butchplease.net) last week. It's been an exciting experience so far. But before we launched, back when I was stockpiling content, my time was very focused on the writing. Now that the site is live, I find myself being pulled in a lot of different directions. I'm constantly updating our posting schedule, to make sure we're showcasing a good mix of writers. I'm emailing writers about drafts, and helping with edits. I'm promoting us on social media and anywhere else on the Internet it isn't completely tacky to do so. I'm checking our stats to see which posts people are responding to. I'm designing layouts for our promo items (T-shirts and buttons for now) and ordering the items online. I love having a website, and I love the response we've gotten so far, but I didn't realize how small of a role the writing would play. I'm hoping that balance will shift more towards the writing side once we get some traction. 

Spending Most of the Day Alone Turns Me Into a Chatterbox
My stylist, Jaclyn, was the first person to point this out to me. I went to see her a couple of weeks ago, in the early afternoon. I spent the whole appointment gabbing like mad. It was almost as if I had spent the morning chugging coffee (and I don't even drink coffee). The appointment was nearly over when I realized I was rambling and I apologized to Jaclyn. 'I don't know why I'm so hyper,' I confessed. 'It's because you've been alone all day,' she diagnosed. And she was right! I've noticed it on several occasions since then. Now that I don't have a day job to absorb all of my social energy, I have more than I know what to do with! I'm making an effort to tone it down a bit, but I have to admit, it's nice to feel engaged and excited to talk to people. Work used to suck that out of me.

I'm sure I'll continue to learn things as the year wears on. We're only a month in, after all! One thing I know for sure is that there's definitely more good than bad to this stay-at-home wife business. The way I feel when I get up each morning is a testament to that.

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