reasonable creature

I just figured out the difference between "stay-at-home" and "working" moms. Turns out all the arguing over day care and the value of women's work is just window dressing. Here's the real distinction: Because I'm at home, I have time to do the extraneous household work that I always felt I should do, but never had time for. Today, for example, I stored baby's outgrown Bundle Me (that's a fleece stroller bunting, fyi). The old me would have just crammed it in the corner of a closet, formula stains and all, leaving it to moulder until it's unearthed, months from now, only to be thrown away. But this time I washed it, found its original plastic zipper bag, repacked it, and stashed it in the basement.

Is life any better because of this? Arguably not. I'm certainly not a better mother for having laundered a Bundle Me. But there is something satisfying about doing even small things well.