I googled (or Bing’ed) a definition of “Typical” and the best definition I liked was “characteristic of something or someone”. So what’s a typical day like for someone like me?
I wake up earlier than everyone and although I have my alarm set at 5:30am, I usually slide out of bed closer to or just after 6am. (Bad, I know.) I check homework, start the espresso machine (which takes a minute to warm up with its flashing lights), prepare breakfast and then pack the boy’s snack. (Which today was Teddy Grahams and a juice box.)
I try to rouse everyone by 6:30am although the boy technically doesn’t have to be up until 7am. I try to take a minute to enjoy my morning cup of coffee, usually quietly at the breakfast counter, or in front of the TV trying to figure out what to wear based on the day’s weather. Getting ready for work can take me anywhere from 20-30 minutes, from hitting the shower to putting down the flat iron that keeps my bob in the shape it was meant to be. It would be longer if I stopped to put on my make up but I do that on the bus. (Shameless me… ) I’m really a pretty methodical dresser, so I don’t waste time trying to put an outfit together. Besides, if you were suits on an almost every day basis, it’s all a matter of deciding which one to wear and which top to wear under the blazer.
I try to get into work by 8:30am and don’t leave until at least 6pm. It’s a long day, I know, but one which is part of the job description. I’ve learned that there are trade offs to being where I am, and one of them is the longer hours I need to put in. I log on and check e-mails, return calls, empty the boss’s out tray, and then get up to grab lunch for him and myself around noon. Like clockwork. (I have long learned that it is important to keep a boss fed on time, because empty stomachs can mean grumpy afternoons.)
My afternoon is pretty much the same thing except that towards the end of the day, I prepare a take home packet for the boss which would have his materials for the next day. He gets to go home with a driver, so he has the time to read in the car.
One regular part of my commute home is the shut-eye during the ride which, I guess, helps to give me my second wind as I head to the more important job I have at home. When I get home, I hug my boy, go through any leftover homework and then I start preparing dinner for everyone. We’ve divied up the work after into a seamless system revolving around our son. If I give the boy the bath, his Dad takes care of the dishes and vice versa. My almost 9-year-old now has a 10pm bedtime, so I don’t usually get to do anything for me until after. Most nights he will insist I tuck him in, which means staying with him until he drifts off to la-la land.
My day typically ends at midnight — which can be a few minutes before or after. There are times when a project gets me going until closer to 1am. And then I wake up at the same time the next morning, regardless of what time I hit the sack the previous night before. So that’s me on a typical day…
Pinay New Yorker 