You Vs. Me

I hate when I’m in the habit of tallying scores.

I did the dishes-like always- so 10 points for me. You took out the trash, only after I asked you to, so 5 points for you. Look at all that I did today, plus I kept the kids alive, so 300 million points for me. I’m drained and just completely done after my long day, so my points are well deserved. Okay, you woke up early and had a long day at work (50 points) but believe me, your tired is nothing compared to mine.

In my mind, I look like an old-fashioned school teacher- hair scraped back in a tight bun, spectacles perched on my nose, standing in front of a green chalkboard. My voice screeches like the chalk as I tally the points for my side versus Nic’s. I don’t like this image- I do not want to be a screechy school teacher.

Much better is life when we are a team. When it’s us versus all the things that need to be done. You woke up super early this morning to head into work while the kids and I slept? Don’t worry about putting the kids to bed, I got this. Go to sleep. Or You clearly need some breathing space. Go take a walk by yourself. We’re on the same team. We’re going the same direction, and we want the same goals.

When one of us is down, the other pulls the extra weight. It’s not a contest of who pulls more weight more often, it’s simply working together.

Because we’re in this raising a family thing together.