Folding the laundry, especially socks.

Cooking dinner.

Making my bed.

I used to love folding the laundry especially in the winter time. I felt as if I accomplished something big by sorting, folding, and putting away the clothes. Now it’s just a huge pain. Socks are the worst. My son has feet that are really just big canoe paddles and he wears his socks outside, against my wished, without shoes on. Usually when taking the garbage out after I have nagged him over and over. I’m getting the garbage out I’m not going to stop the process by having him put on shoes and risk him shifting focus to some other task. Or me shifting focus so I can’t remind him again. The problem is that his socks are filled with holes. I throw out the socks with holes but often the mates are still good. There is always a lonely sock left over when I do laundry.

I used to love cooking dinner. I love to cook but the kids rarely want what I want and it isn’t as much fun preparing something that no one wants. It also takes more time than I want to give up to make a nice dinner. Luckily its summer and most meals can be cooked on the grill. Meals everyone at least tolerates. When I do go to the trouble to prepare a nice meal there is hardly the overwhelming gratitude I am looking for. My kids will eat it, thankfully I don’t have picky eaters, but they shove it down so fast they rarely experience the taste.

Like folding clothes I felt as if I had accomplished something by making my bed. It made my room look tidy. It has since occurred to me that no one looks in my room. If I make the bed it’s as if I invited the dogs to sleep there while I’m gone. For some reason they don’t if it’s unmade.

Currently I have taken over the task of mowing the lawn. I feel as if I have accomplished something even bigger than matching socks or making my bed. And, everyone can see the results of my labor. I mow the lawn like I vacuum so I usually do it right before I know it’s going to rain. If it isn’t going to rain I turn on the sprinkler.