A Day in the Life of A....

What are some of the things that these people do in an average work day?

• Accountant: Updates ledger / balance sheets, pay bills, chase for payments, ensures sufficient cash flow for the month
  


• Cook: Menu planning, mise en place for the day's meals
  


• Chauffer: Drives boss around, ensures that he / she gets to destination in time
  


• Housekeeper: Tidy / clean house, deal with laundry (washing, ironing, folding), grocery shopping, prepare meals
  


• Nanny: Feed baby, change diapers, gives baby a bath, plays with baby, prepares baby's meals / milk feeds
  


• Secretary: Ensures boss has the necessary documents for the day's meetings, manages boss' calendar


• Teacher: Plan curriculum, prepare teaching materials, conduct lessons, discipline students

What does a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) do on an average day?

• Pay bills
• Ensures expenditure is within monthly budget
• Prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Plans meals for the week
• Tidy / clean house
• Deal with laundry
• Buys groceries
• Feed baby
• Change diapers
• Gives baby / children a bath
• Plays with baby / children
• Discipline children
• Teach children manners, words, songs, numbers, colours, etc..
• Drives children to/from school and activites
• Ensures that family calendar is in order
• Ensures that kids go to school with their bags packed with what they need for the day

So is the SAHM truly a 'tai-tai' (local term meaning lady of leisure)? If so, why does she usually work more than 12 hours a day, with no annual leave, medical leave or public holidays? Why is it that it is socially accepted to hire a maid to manage the chores and care for children - the maid is paid for doing this and it is considered decent work, yet when one does all these and more as a SAHM, it is not considered work? How many times have I been asked, when are you going back to work? Am I not working already??

Quotable Quotes

I somehow 'collect' quotes in my head. Mostly, I remember them because they are thought-provoking and/or apply to my life. I will keep editing this post as and when I come across new quotes. Meanwhile, here are some. (Where possible, I will state the author's name. However, I usually can't remember the name, so if you do know it, you can help by commenting!)

• Do not worry that your children aren't listening; worry that they are watching.
• The term 'working mother' is redundant. (Seen on a poster at Brewerkz)
• It takes a village to raise a child. (African proverb)
• To parent is not to impose, but to guide, moderate and support.
• Raising a child is like flying a kite. Sometimes you need to pull back, but sometimes you need to let go... to really see a kite soar, you've got to let it go.
• If you want your children to respect you, respect them first.
• Write your plans in pencil and give the eraser to God. (Seen on a bumper sticker)
• Bone of my bone,
  Flesh of my flesh,
  Blood of my blood,
  Milk of my breast,
  Child of my heart,
  Person of your own. (Kristin Gillespie)
• The modern mother faces a very large problem: her own possible extinction. She has the same powers of observation, the same intuition, the same instincts, and the same love for her baby that mothers have had throughout human history. But she is threatened by a world in which it is no longer safe to be a mother.
• "You are not a pacifier; you are a Mom. You are the sun, the moon, the earth, you are liquid love, you are warmth, you are security, you are comfort in the very deepest aspect of the meaning of comfort.... but you are not a pacifier!" (Paula Yount)