I’d love to relax like a dad

There are clearly a lot of differences between moms and dads… but one that I’ve noticed between myself and my husband has become so clear it’s almost painful.

Moms — or at least me — cannot sit still to relax.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the only time I feel like I truly sit down to do nothing is if I’m sick… and even then, I need to be sick sick to actually stop.

If I have an hour to myself, I’m lucky if I do one thing just for me (usually a quick workout), and then the rest of the time is filled with doing things for my family. Ordering groceries, changing the sheets, doing laundry — something that helps the household run smoother.

I noticed this really clearly the other day. If Paul and I are both home, I usually help Walter with bathroom time for bed, and then Paul reads him a book. It works because I get book time on the other nights, so he gets his time to snug and hang out.

Paul, rightfully so, usually stays in Walter’s room and scrolls or looks things up on his phone while Walter settles down. And honestly, it doesn’t bother me — half the time during bath, I’m doing the same thing while Walt is happily playing.

But the other day, after I finished helping with the bathroom and Paul was reading, I found myself in the kitchen wiping down Walter’s “eating” tower. We used to clean it daily when he was messier, but now it’s mostly just sticky hands — it really didn’t need to be done right then.

And I just had to laugh.

Because either that same day or a few days before, Paul had asked me to sit down after dinner and said he’d take care of the dishes. And I remember saying, “I cannot. I cannot relax until they’re done.” So I did them… and then came back to sit while Walter finished eating.

This is absolutely a millennial thing — I’ve seen so many posts about it — but wow… it would be nice to be able to relax the way my husband can.

Maybe one day. 🤪