Today is one of those days where I feel almost paralyzed by exhaustion, overwhelmed by the list of things I should be doing. I look around at my house, and god oh god does it need to be cleaned. This I somehow manage to do every few days, but the things that really really need doing (window washing, uncluttering the tops of wardrobes and fridge, etc) never get done. Things pile up, and up and up. It’s not actually that I don’t have the time to do them, or at least work on them. It’s that my energy level is around a 1 out of 10. I have just enough energy to get my toddler to the potty and pour her a bowl of cereal in the morning.
Sometimes I literally just sit, in sort of a daze, and let my daughter pull a chair up to the sink and make a wet mess in the kitchen. My finest parenting moment, indeed. In my head, The List plays on repeat, and yet I don’t pick my ass up and go get any of it done. My limbs each seem to weigh 100 lbs.
Guys, I have so much to do. The weight of it feels immense at times. I never dreamed at age 30 that I would be shouldering the responsibility of my grandmother and mother’s lives, as well as my own and my child’s. I don’t want to give this up, and in fact I’m glad and proud that I am able to do so much for them, but god it sometimes feels really hard. The most recent caregiver debacle resulted in not only police reports and litigation, but with the impending family “crisis” that will erupt when my grandma can no longer stay at home. I am her DPOA, both medical and financial, and I have no idea how to go about this! Where is the “what do with your elderly ones when they can’t be independent anymore but refuse to let you help?” how-to book??? I have to begin overseeing my mother’s finances, too!
And the messy house. And the gardens. I want to hide under my blankets for a few days. Boy do I miss the days when I was still the “kid”!
Mother of All Things 
That all sounds incredibly overwhelming. No wonder you feel so exhausted.
What about outsourcing and getting someone to come do the deep cleaning stuff? I got someone to come do ours. It’s an expense, but it’s worth it to me because if I were to do it myself, it would loom over my head and likely never get done and be a source of stress.
Would love to, but I’ve been cutting expenses back just to get by, including M’s gymnastics, so I can’t right now.
Wishing you so much strength to deal with all the things on your plate right now. I cannot even begin to imagine how you are juggling everything!
Sending respect for what is on your plate, acknowledgement that you will get there and do what seems impossible to do. Hope that you have investigated sleep study because without real good rest it is MUCH worse. And much on line support.
Keep your head up and just keep going. I’m a geriatric nurse in the states and we have services that help with the elderly, meal prep, light housework type that are sometimes payed by the government. Is this maybe an option you could pursue? I would speak with a social worker about your options.
We hire 24 hour in home care. They assist with all of my grandparents’ ADLs and do all of the cleaning, cooking, pet care, chores, and errand running.
Unfortunately reality is that 24 hour home care does NOT do all the work of managing the care etc. There is LOTS of ‘etc.’ Much sympathy.