A WOMAN’S WORK IS NEVER, EVER DONE! My thoughts on working overtime and its affects on family, and health–riveroflifelisajoy

February 8, 2008 at 10:10 am · Filed under Black Army Reservists, Black Children, Black Family, Black History, BLACK HISTORY WOMENS HEALTH, Black Male Children and Poverty, Decline of African/Black American marriages, Health, Middle Class Dilema, Middle class seeks the food pantry...Why?, SELF REFLECTION, Selfesteem, single parenting, SLEEP AND HEALTH CONDITIONS, Weight Struggle of African American Women, Women in the WorkForce and tagged: 40 hour work week plus overtime equals 60 hour work wee, and economics, black women and job stress, effects of overtime on the health and family, workforce stress

Most Americans work a stated 40 hour work week.  But then this thing called overtime kicks in.  UGH!   and double ugh!

  I am of victim of this overtime dilemma.  You work it either because you have to, or because you need the money.  But what happens when you come on and the house is a wreck,  your feet hurt,  your back hurts,  and all you want to do is lay down.

  Problem with laying down for a few minutes you suddenly find youself being awaken by the hunger of the family and the second job now is upon you. 

Your family needs your attention…..NOW!  yOU PULL your aching bones from the bed and feel dizzy, weak and  tired.  You make dinner and then your child tells you he needs construction paper from the store. 

 You suddently find yourself at a 24 hour STOP AND SHOP SUPERMARKET,  looking at multicolored paper and wishing you were back in your bed. 

 The clock is spinning fast now.  You realize that 4a.m. and 5 a.m. are just around the corner.  Inside you want to cry….you wonder will you make it to retirement? 

 You wonder if you will make it to June at this point.  You get back home and then you look around the house and then begin to plan out the house cleaning. 

But wait….you go lay down….just for a minute…and suddenly it is 5 30 a.m.!  You are half an hour from being late.  YOu jump up from bed and then rush to prepare breakfast for the family.  

Take your shower and then run out the door to start this hard work force routine again. 

But atleast today is Friday….but oh,  You have to work 4hours and 30 minutes on Saturday morning!  Ugh!…Don’t think about it right now.  Just go one minute,  and one day at a time. 

 Focus….for you know the old saying….a “woman’s work is never done—she works from sun to sun!”

Lets analyize the workforce and how it affects the woman and her health….and the need to earn income vs.  being a mother and care giver. 

   Entry will be made later today…….It is 5am and I have got to get ready for work!  Write to you after my work day is complete! 

Riveroflifelisajoy! ————-

Well,  I ‘m back.

Work as a definition is something you have to do, and/or want to do  in order to get paid, or complete some type of task that benefits yourself or others.   Work is good….work is healthy.

  But too much of anything is never good.  As a woman I was persmitted to take a year of maternity leave after I gave birth to my only child.  However, due to conditions beyond my control  I have been a single parent for nearly 10 years to date. 

 I do not like it and it can be a double job at times.  (especially since my child has been having varied serious medical problems.)  I bear my burdens completely solo.  I care for my mother also. 

Thus I am sandwiched between two different circumstances—or rather three.  I am thankful for the job….but not having assistance at home makes it difficult to say the least.  For example,  one day I had to work overtime on my job. 

But when I arrived home,  I heard banging in the house.  My mother,  was calling my child.  He was in the basement.  He had been boiling an egg and fell asleep.  He burnt the pot he was cooking in and was sleeping in the smokey house.

  My mother was upstairs and could not walk down to the basement because of the arthritisis in her knees.  That conditon had the potentical to be devastating to say the least.  So I tried to stop doing overtime.  However,  I am unable to at this time. 

 A standing order is in place for my child not to cook at all unless I am in the house. Tunafish, and peanut butter and jelly are left in place for him to eat when I am not home.  Or–microwave oven also…But even that I do not trust too much either. 

You might ask,  where is your family and friends?  Well, I am not the “Lucy and Ethel” type gal!   Everyone I know has a job….and/career.  There are no stay at home mom’s in my daily life struggles. 

 Money is tight and people do not help out like that without hard green money in their hands.  So,—I do not have people walking in and out of my house.  Therefore,  I do not have assistance. 

 I even had attempted to get my mother a home attendant and VISITING NURSE SERIVCE of   New York resfused her several times in the past two years.

  You just about have to need a hospice before they offer you assistance.

  If  she can bathe herself, and feed herself,  they say that she is not eligable.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?

Thus back to my original discussion…..a WOMAN’S work is never done!

What are the society politicians doing to help the single parent,  caregivers of society? 

I get rediculed,  and repremanded on my job for my support of my mother and child.  I am told to make arrangments to have my child taken care of and my mother for that matter. 

But where is the money coming from to foot the bill to help PAY  for these so called arrangements?—-Strange huh?!

THIS WAS ANOTHER INSTALLMENT….BUT HOUSE CLEANING CALLS….!—-

RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY!

Comments