Life Lately: School's Out | School Holidays, Bread Baking and Laundry

Hope you are doing well.

It's the long holiday here in Cameroon, and I'm so grateful for the end of another academic year. Both kids are in primary school now, and that's a significant milestone for me as a mom. It reminds me that they are growing, and I'm feeling free again as I raise them to take care of themselves. 

These first few days of the holiday have been characterised by sleeping in. The best part has been turning off my 6am alarm. The first morning I woke up and realized there was no school run waiting for me felt like a little luxury. These days, I wake up when it's time to make breakfast.  

Another thing I'm getting used to is the kids talking and playing most of the time in the house. During school time, I had quiet mornings, and now I'm asking them to tone down the noise most of the time. It's nice to see how creative they are while playing, but the noise at times is not easy, especially while I'm working. 

Talking about interesting things, I baked some bread today! It's my first time baking bread, and it turned out not bad. It was a bit heavy, but it was bread! I was so happy. I struggled with the dough, which was sticky till I baked it. I don't know when I'll try making bread again, but I hope I will get it right next time. 

I have quite a heap of laundry keeping me busy these days, and I hope to finish it soon. Washing by hand is getting more and more overwhelming for me, and I have never considered getting a washing machine like I do now. What makes it overwhelming is that it is time-consuming and tiring, and working after that feels heavy. Also, the time used for the laundry would serve me better for work, rest, or doing something else which is more productive for me. Another chore I find overwhelming is cooking. I enjoy cooking when I don't feel obliged to cook and when the ingredients have been prepped. These are the moments I'm reminded that I need to put in more effort to have a better life because a washing machine and help are really necessities. I've been intentional about building a life that feels lighter and easier. A washing machine may seem like a small thing, but on days when I spend hours washing clothes by hand, it feels like a symbol of the kind of life I'm working toward.  With the kids on holiday, there will be more cooking and laundry, so I have to brace myself to balance that and other things.