Tuesday's Tip: Taking a Break

As a homemaker, my work is never done; there is always something else that needs to be done. I don't take days off very often because then my work backs up, and I fall behind. However, there are times when I just have to take the day off.

Sunday night (or I should say Monday morning) I was up with Rachel until 12:30 a.m., and then she was up again at 5:00. Needless to say, I was tired yesterday, but I was able to get most of my daily chores done. Right after lunch, Sarah Beth started throwing up. She was able to get to the toilet most of the time, but there were still some things that needed to be washed. And it made for a long afternoon. (Thankfully, Daniel and Rachel slept through the worst of it, and John came home early.) Last night, Rachel finally went to sleep at 10:30, but she woke up again at 3:30 this morning. Since John gets up at 4:30, I wasn't really able to get much sleep after feeding Rachel and getting her back in bed. Again, needless to say, I am tired today, but I figured that I could still get my daily chores done because there isn't much to do. When Sarah Beth got sick after breakfast, I figuratively threw my hands in the air and said, "That it! I've had enough! I'm done for the day!"

What did I mean? I decided to take a break today; I plan to do the minimum of chores like preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards. Since Sarah Beth didn't feel well this morning, I popped in The Sound of Music for us to watch. She enjoyed it because of the children, and I enjoyed watching an adult DVD. I was even able to fold a load of clothes.

Since Sarah Beth has not gotten sick again, and she seems to feel better, we may go back to our daily routine after nap time. If not, we can always finish The Sound of Music.

Sometimes I just have to "call in sick" and take the day off. I think that we all need to do that occasionally, but there is so much to do in keeping our homes that we feel guilty taking the day off. But there are times when it is better, I think, to do the minimum than to struggle to get our to do list done.

What do you think? Do you take days off? What precipitates your decision to take the day off? Or am I the only one?