Arsenic Hour Antidote

Have you ever noticed the particular time frame during which every aspect of home life disintegrates into discord? You know, when mom attempts to fix supper, kids do homework and need mom's help, dad isn't home yet, Hannah suffers a meltdown (if you have a "Hannah"), someone bangs on practices the piano. If you have a baby it cries for no specific reason and refuses any efforts made to pacify him or her. We call it "arsenic hour."

Our arsenic hour slowly swelled until it lasted from the moment the older girls began their homework after school until bedtime. A nice glass of wine no longer took the edge off and I became resentful of my hard-working husband's good work ethic, despite the fact that he is our sole source of income. Between Hannah's meltdowns, Katie's need for help with her homework, Hailey's basketball schedule and my desire to feed my kids nutritiously rather than Sonic or Pizza Hut (our only two choices in my small town), I had to do something.

So, I hired another high school girl. At this rate I'll employ the entire female population of our tiny high school, thus boosting the local economy and doing my part to end this supposed recession. B (the aforementioned high school freshman) arrives Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 4:30 and interacts with Hannah while I help Katie and Hailey with homework, hear about their day at school, taxi Hailey to basketball practice and generally make myself available to my older two. Before B leaves around 6:30 she cleans the kitchen, traditionally Carl's "job."

Talk about a win-win-win situation. Hannah is happy with the special treatment she receives (I've been pleasantly surprised with how quickly B has been able to interpret Hannah's speech and find fun things to do), the older girls have more attention and help from me, Carl is relieved of kitchen duty AND he retains more of his a** because his wife is less of an a** chewer. Not only that but we are actually ahead financially because Carl can work later, earning markedly more money per hour than we pay B.

I hired B two weeks ago. So far so good. There's a learning curve involved--teaching how to load a dishwasher & where to put away dishes, where basic things are located, how to entertain Hannah, what I expect. B has done remarkably well and "fits" with our family's personality. Nothing is perfect, but this has been a good antidote to our arsenic hour, for now, and another key in my quest to find balance and serenity amidst the trials that are mine.