Recently there have been some sweeping changes to my lifestyle. I'm now a mother. I didn't miraculously come across some wayward sperm, harvest the egg and pop something out in 9 months don't worry. I did however, adopt a dog. She's a collie and she is beautiful. Already 5 and half, she has been through the mill but now fallen on her elegant feet and is being thoroughly pampered. I had no idea just how much this would impact my lifestyle. In fact the first weekend I got her...we spent a good couple of hours staring at eachother probably thinking exactly the same thing. "What the hell is happening here?". I think the sacrificial lamb in this whole scenario has been my social life which I feel was probably very timely anyway. Given that all my friends have largely settled down and the handful of single friends I have left have been so burnt by the opposite sex the they opt for the safety of their couch and familiarity of a dvd, my options have been thin on the ground of late. But that's ok too. I'm gradually learning that there's nothing wrong with staying in on the weekends...particularly given the arctic conditions of our enduring Melbourne Winter. I think I've also found some inner peace by feeling comfortable with not being a social butterfly. I love going out...but I am feeling resolutely distanced from the crowds I see out and about. I'm also feeling the generational gap more than ever, although seemingly managing to capture the attention of men far younger than me...which is not such a bad thing...but something I'm less likely to encourage these days. The halcyon days of bedding young pretty things are well and truly over.....as I search for a great purpose and connection in life...or so I keep telling myself anyway. My Friday and Sat nights are now filed under "low key" and gone is the trill of my mobile phone sms tone at 1am with the familiar "Are you out and about honey?"....ah the booty calls of old. I find myself missing them from time to time. What I don't miss is that empty feeling the next day where you feel incomplete and a bit shallow with no desire to really nuzzle into that man next to you or laugh at stupid jokes over a coffee at breakfast. In fact you just either want to get the hell out of there and into your own shower or keep awkwardly detailing the things you have to do that day in the hope that if they are still lingering in your bedroom, they will take the hint to "be on their way".
Aside from all this...I've found my new found responsibilities of cleaning up pet excrement (vomit, poo, wee) quite grounding..not enjoyable...but grounding. I now sympathise with the young mums I'm closely and not-so-closely connected to. Where once I would roll my eyes as I listened to them talk about "Harry's" latest bum rash...or how adorable "Lucy" was at play group or when they pull out their phones and show you their 'adorable' offspring in similar poses...I now think I'm morphing into them. I spend my weekends cleaning the house, I spend my week days cleaning up after an office of men all clearly pampered by their wives procluding them from feeling the need to clean their dishes or contribute to the general hygiene of the office space. This includes my father who I do work for! One week I thought I'd patiently see how long it would take for someone to mention the pile up of dirty dishes....or act upon them...and nothing. Ants even started to gather feverishly which led to me cracking it.....and caving in. Much like I do silently on the home front....as I desperately wait in vain for my house mate to find the desire to christen the vaccum cleaner or demonstrate a slight desire to contribute to the maintenance of our domestic space in some regard outside of washing occassional dishes...
This woman's work is never done..............
No comments:
Post a Comment