I love sharing stories that have a moment when I say, “And that’s when steam came billowing out of my ears like a cartoon character!” I had one of those last night as my husband was building a 3-piece outdoor bistro set for our balcony. Doug definitely spent the better part of 2 hours putting this set together. There was a challenge when the screws didn’t line up, which was really frustrating, but he figured it all out. My daughter, who was watching him build it said something like, “Dad, you do all the hard work, mom just bought the thing!”—And that’s when steam came billowing out of my ears like a cartoon character!

I spent HOURS, which turned into days, researching this “3-piece outdoor bistro set.” It needed to be the right height so we could see over the railing. It had to be the right size to fit into this tight space. I wanted it to be a style and color that I liked, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money because it was not leaving with us when we leave Hoboken. And it had to be ready to ship because we wanted it yesterday! “Mom just bought the thing.” Mom has a lot of what are called “Invisible tasks,” that don’t get counted and that rack up hours of time spent making all things in our household run smoothly—many that no one ever sees—but should somehow get recognized or at least not taken for granted.

YOU do a lot of “invisible tasks,” I’m sure. Men, I’m not leaving you out! You do a lot of invisible tasks, too! My daughter obviously didn’t know, nor should she, how many hours went into purchasing this silly “3-piece outdoor bistro set.” I share the story simply so we all can recognize the invisible hours that are happening around us—some by us and some for us. They happen at work, too. Let’s be grateful and thankful for this invisible work that’s done our our behalf.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
Beth Fitzgerald