It’s 8:47 pm.
The house is finally quiet.
Dinner plates are stacked in the sink, the TV is still playing something no one is watching, and someone has fallen asleep on the couch, not out of comfort, but exhaustion.
This is what weekdays look like now.
We call it a 9 to 5. But it doesn’t really end at 5, does it?
I have too many thoughts about this. Mostly unorganised. I’m trying to make this post organized and scream. Alright?
First of all, I want to talk about the illusion of stability that the 9 to 5 system presents. It is sold as secure and responsible. If you have a 9 to 5 job, then that means you’re succeeding in life.
Nobody gives a shit if you hate it or you’re miserable the entire time. When that paycheck comes in, everybody applauds, and you tell yourself, ‘see? It was worth it’, with a lump in your throat.
But the clock is ticking. The time theft through 9 to 5 is huge. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, a couple, or a family with kids.
For a single person, it seems manageable. And it might be. But if you take out time for the long commute, office hours, a grocery run once in a while, cleaning and cooking (even for 1 person), you are left with barely 1 to 2 hours for yourself. And what do you do at that time? Doom scrolling in the name of relaxing.
The next day, it’s the same routine. You have a stable job, but when somebody asks you what your hobbies are, And what do you do after work? You stare at them awkwardly.
If you’re a couple, it’s somehow worse. You both get up early. There’s almost zero talking in the morning (unless you’re a morning person), you eat breakfast (only if both your timings are same, otherwise you eat alone), you kiss goodbye and then don’t see each other for several hours.
Once you come home, you’re either exhausted or frustrated. Expectations for the other person skyrockets.
You think, ‘if they were home early before me, they could’ve made dinner or folded the laundry or took out the garbage’. The other person who did come home early is just recovering from the day.
You both do your tasks mechanically. Someone makes dinner, and someone quietly folds laundry.
At dinner, you barely talk other than discussing the day at the office. Of course, there are exceptions, but I’m talking on average.
One person expects the other to initiate a deep conversation simply because they’re tired. The other person is exhausted, too. Both aren’t ready to deal with big emotions.
They both go to bed with full stomachs, the day’s work done but zero communication.
Not to mention, it gets worse when people start connecting with people at work. Connecting beyond what is needed for work colleagues. And then starts the whole chaos of broken relationships.
If you’re someone with a family, then damn. You’re on the difficult level of the game.
Not only are the adults responsible for themselves and their own mental health, but there are little ones to deal with too.
You come home from work, wanting to be left alone to hate your boss in silence, but instead, your screaming children greet you at the door. It doesn’t matter if your partner is a stay at home partner or a working person. It still sucks!! If they are a stay at home person, then they probably missed you the entire day and are looking forward to talking to you and telling you all about their day and want to know about yours. Your entire energy is used up. You come home empty with no backups. You get annoyed when they ask you a thing twice.
And if they are working like you, then you both probably are tired from the day and just want to exist in silence. But bam! Kids! You have to be understanding for them and do gentle parenting when all you wanna do is whoop their bums because you just want silence. I know I know everyone is gonna be like it’s your choice to have kids. But even without kids, it’s not manageable to have a life to enjoy. You’re earning for a beautiful but can’t live it yet.
You live for the weekends, and even then, the weekends are reserved for chores that weren’t done during the week. Grocery runs, house repair, doctor appointments, something for the kids, car repair.
And on Sunday, when the sun is shining through the window, you eat dread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You congratulate yourself for completing the to-do list. But when someone asks you what your hobby is? And what do you do for fun? You stare at them awkwardly.