Me time
Blue Milk brought up this brilliant article today, in which Glosswitch asks, "Why is it that mothers end up having their lives marketed back to them, piece by piece, as "me time"?" The quote she pulled is hilarious, so I'm posting the same:
Hooray for “me time”! Aren’t you really, really grateful it exists? For this is one of the first rules of motherhood: be pathetically, ostentatiously thankful for any time whatsoever which isn’t spent wiping arses or cleaning behind the fridge. For lo! You have been granted some “me time”! Rejoice! Whether you spend these precious “you” moments drinking a cup of tea or shaving your pubes, never forget to do it with a beatific smile on your face. For you are so, so lucky! All that stuff other people, including fathers, just do — well, for you, it’s now a bit selfish to do it. But go on, we’ll let you. As an extra-special treat.
"Me time" around here is pretty inexistent right now. Leon has what I think may be dairy-induced eczema and the rest of us have a cold, so when arses aren't being wiped, it's noses, or else it's just lots and lots of cuddling/calming time.
But when the day comes where it will be realistic for me to humbly request some "me time" I certainly see the humor in such a marketable notion. Has anyone ever requested a bit of "me time" and then plodded off into the kitchen to drink a beer? Or is that just "fun time"? What about a full night of sleep? Not "me time" either? Huh.
The “me time” labelling is getting on my nerves. It’s not just laden with gender-based assumptions — “while the role of serving your family is vital, it’s still just part of the whole you” — it’s also heavily based on undertaking activities to improve your appearance.
Hooray for “me time”! Aren’t you really, really grateful it exists? For this is one of the first rules of motherhood: be pathetically, ostentatiously thankful for any time whatsoever which isn’t spent wiping arses or cleaning behind the fridge. For lo! You have been granted some “me time”! Rejoice! Whether you spend these precious “you” moments drinking a cup of tea or shaving your pubes, never forget to do it with a beatific smile on your face. For you are so, so lucky! All that stuff other people, including fathers, just do — well, for you, it’s now a bit selfish to do it. But go on, we’ll let you. As an extra-special treat.
"Me time" around here is pretty inexistent right now. Leon has what I think may be dairy-induced eczema and the rest of us have a cold, so when arses aren't being wiped, it's noses, or else it's just lots and lots of cuddling/calming time.
But when the day comes where it will be realistic for me to humbly request some "me time" I certainly see the humor in such a marketable notion. Has anyone ever requested a bit of "me time" and then plodded off into the kitchen to drink a beer? Or is that just "fun time"? What about a full night of sleep? Not "me time" either? Huh.
The “me time” labelling is getting on my nerves. It’s not just laden with gender-based assumptions — “while the role of serving your family is vital, it’s still just part of the whole you” — it’s also heavily based on undertaking activities to improve your appearance.
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