Buying Time with our Kids

More commonly used in professional references, "outsource" is a word Seth and I have come to use when referring to tasks we pay others to do around the house. When we outsource at work it is usually for one of two reasons - either we don't have the skill in-house or we have too much work to handle with in-house resources alone. So we find an external (outsourced) resource to do the work. 

Let's be clear - outsourcing at home is not because we are incapable of mowing the lawn or cleaning the bathtub. We are simply buying time with our kids. 

We are hiring someone to do these tasks so that we can either spend more time with our kids or (gasp!) actually have a bit of time to do something for ourselves. 

The yard was pretty obvious - either pay someone a nominal fee or Seth could continue spending 3 hours every Saturday morning doing it himself. By the time he is done the girls are eating lunch and ready for nap so he pretty much misses them for the bulk of the day. Not to mention the fact that he is completely exhausted from performing manual labor in the extreme heat and humidity. 

Since deciding to outsource this particular task, one Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago Seth, Norah and I sat down to play a game of Sorry! while Macy contentedly played nearby. All of a sudden we realized the yard guys were there and Seth said, "Yep - that's right. He's out there mowing the lawn and I'm in here playing with my family." 

It worked! Quite literally! 

What wasn't quite as obvious is how we were going to make up for the fact that with my new job I no longer have Fridays off, which was when I often did some cooking and laundry in an effort to free up our weekends for more family time.

It really started getting to me when we were spending a good part of the day on Sunday in the kitchen with Norah repeatedly asking, "Can you do something with me?" I figure it won't be long before she stops asking, so I want the answer to be "Yes" as much as possible until then. Norah starts public school (Pre-K) this fall and because that feels like an entirely new chapter to me it has been a bit of a reality check. Time is flashing by before our eyes and I want to live more in the moment. I don't want to wake up one day and have regrets about spending too much time doing chores on the weekends and not enough together as a family. 

After all, part of the reason we both work (in addition to a desire to have fulfilling careers) is to be able to provide experiences and opportunities for our kids. But we need to make space for that to happen.

So we decided it was time to get more help. 

Our cleaning lady currently comes every other week. On a bit of a trial basis she has agreed to double the time she spends at our house each visit and do laundry and cooking as well. The first time was Monday this week. 

It was awesome. 

When we got home the house was clean, laundry was done, and two meals were prepped and ready to stick in lunch bags. 

Did I say it was awesome? 'Cause it was awesome. 

The next time she is scheduled to come will be during my 4-day business trip. I have a feeling we will think it is awesome all over again. 

The answer is "Yes," Norah. I WILL play something with you.