By: Jaime Mejía (Translated by Taisa Strouse)
I get up at 6:00 am, it’s still dark, I go to the bathroom to wash my face, then I go to the kitchen, we turn on the burner and put on the pot for milk, we start the task of making something to eat for lunch, in pots and pans breakfast is prepared for the house, the children first, so that they go to school, run here and run there and they wake up and do not fall asleep. F…. the milk was watery!
Then I prepare breakfast for my partner, a little conversation and that’s it, it’s already 7:30 am and I’m ready to do other things, like clean, make the beds, prepare the clothes and leave for work – run to catch the bus, and do not be late.
RUN TO WORK
When I arrive to work I stamp the card, how lucky I was not to not be late this time, and I’m ready to listen to the boss’ first instructions, and I get to work, attentive to the succession of production, there is so much to do and no time for a break until lunch.
Ohh this time, I forgot my lunch on the table at home, it was time for bread and coffee until I had left.
It’s finally time to leave, I think I’ve had a few coffees to not to fall asleep, back to the trek of taking a bus to get home, while squeezing my wallet tight so that the few pesos I have for tickets and bread are not stolen. I sit like a sardine in a can, someone passed the hand by my bud, how annoying! until finally I have to get off, the driver doesn’t listen and leaves me a few blocks further than I thought. I walk to the bakery, buy milk, bread and some sweets for the children, I hope that this time my partner arrives on time and not drunk.
FINALLY AT HOME
I come home after having walked a long way, and I see that there are dirty dishes in the sink, the children were already at home and I ask if they’d already done their homework. One of them needs my help with a math problem, I tried to help him while I prepare food for the evening, I remember that there are clothes to wash and some clothes to iron for the next day.
Between doing the dishes, heating up what I’d cooked for lunch, and feeding the kids, I try to give myself time to put things away, fold everyone’s clothes, pick out socks…
UPPS!! something burns, luckily it wasn’t that much, I guess that’s what I will eat.
My partner finally arrives, luckily he’s fine, this time without alcohol in his system, I ask him to help my son with his math homework, with complaints he does so.
I serve him the snack, and when he finishes with the boy’s homework, I ask him: How did it go?
And he vents, shouting about his boss, about his job, but nevertheless he can’t quit, because it’s part of the livelihood of this house and I tell him: we have to be thankful that at least we have a job.
Then, it’s time to stop cleaning everything: pots, dishes, the table and kitchen. Next, I iron the clothes that my partner will wear tomorrow, my uniform too, and the children’s uniforms so that they look put together.
MY TIME TO RELAX
I finally finish, well I think so, I get ready for bed, but my partner wants “something else”, I’m so exhausted, I’m numb, and the worst thing is that the same thing happens to him too. We’re exhausted, tired and without any kind of romance until deep of dream.
The alarm clock rings at 6:00 am, a new day has come.
What happened to my dreams, my desire for better days?
This is the story of a mother, like many mothers, in many of the world’s homes.
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