What do you think I do all day Friedman?

The other day Joe and I were going to watch a television series on Netflix.  As I was selecting Episode #1 Joe, asked if we could watch Episode #2 since he’d already seen Episode #1.  (Side note:  Joe knows I hate watching anything that is not from the start, be it a movie or a TV series.)  I reminded him that I hate it when we watch things that have already started and I don’t get to see the plot set up, etc.  His response:  “Just watch it tomorrow during the day when I’m at work.”  

I was shocked.

I quickly shot back, “Really?  What do you think I do all day Friedman?  Watch TV and do my nails?  I’m working all day, too.”

Joe quickly realized his mistake and agreed with me that I am working all day too and that we could start the series from Episode #1.

Despite the fact that Joe quickly got out of the hole he dug, I can’t help but play back his response over and over again in my head.   Do people really think that stay at home moms have the time to watch TV??  Especially stay at home moms who have young children that are not in school full time?  

This blog and uploading photos from my camera are about the only luxuries I allow myself.  I don’t go shopping unless I’m going to the grocery store or Target.  I don’t take myself out for lunch.  I am usually eating Liam’s leftovers and something out of the refrigerator that is about to go bad – it’s disgusting really.  If I get both kids to nap at the same time I will try to sneak in a shower, but that’s because I never get to shower when I want to, ever.

My friend Erica wrote a blog posting a few weeks ago about feeling guilty for having her “me time.”  I was so thankful to read her post and know that there are other moms out there feeling the same way.  But to think that my husband even thought for a moment that I would watch TV during the day really got me thinking. 

You know that show “Wife Swap”…well, I’d like to have a spousal role swap for the day.  I’m not saying Joe’s job is easy.  I’d probably leave his office crying if we swapped jobs for the day.  (I’d cry my way right over to Fashion Island which is conveniently located across the street from Joe’s office.)   But I wish Joe knew what the day was like for me.  Oddly enough, for me, being a stay at home mom is ten times harder than being a working mom.   Even that sentence sounds wrong to me because I am a working mom.  Sigh…