Lynn, Agate, and Julie. I can totally relate to what you all are saying. Life gets going at such a pace that we can feel guilty regardless of what we're doing. When working, we SHOULD be with kids. When with kids, we SHOULD be wroking. When at a kid's game, we SHOULD be making dinner, cleaning, food shopping, doing laundry, and the list goes on.

One way I think we can truly help ourselves is by LOWERING OUR EXPECTATIONS. Then maybe we wouldn't feel frustrated when we can't accomplish everything we seet out to do in a day.

A good example may be with Easter coming. Do we really need to have the family, clean before they come, cook for everyone, and then clean up when they all leave.

I say have the family, but do it differently. I'm getting better at leaving the house a little messier. It's neat, but maybe not CLEAN. Let family bring a dish. No one minds. It's better for them to come to our house and not have to do ALL the preparations. Bringing one dish should be a breeze for them. Then, before everyone leaves, get most of the cleaning up done. That way we won't be in the kitchen for an hour or so after they leave. We can put our feet up and take a littel break.

Just some thoughts. Any other ideas on how to make our lives easier.

The best idea I've had to make my life easier is for me to get a wife.

No sex required.

Okay, I give up. Not sure I understand Thistle Farms solution to the problem, get a wife??? Of course I am no one to judge anyones choice of a partner, I had me a Unick for 5 years and went along with it too, until one day I got hit on the head and brought back into the conscience world. HE'S HISTORY!!!

I know how thin we are all stretched but I try to enjoy whatever I'm doing and sometimes integrate one job into another so neither is too demanding.

Friends over for big dinners, I agree, everyone is assigned a dish to bring and after dessert is served, I hand out hand crocheted aprons with each woman's name on hers and they just put them on and off we go to clean the mess. Plus the apron is hers to keep...Works fine and they're happy to have a nice gift. If its a bar-b-que, the men clean and we ladies retire to the pool.

My only real complaint about all the directions I feel myself being pulled is when I was 36, I;d say to myself, "Self, not a problem plenty of time for that later." However now that I am 63, I say "self, gotta get to it, never know how much time is left." I am not growing old gracefully.