My career of choice
Growing up I always thought that if there were ever the perfect job for me, being a stay at home mom was it. I will admit there was some "false advertising" involved in this decision.
You see, I was blessed to have grown up in a home with both parents and only one other sibling. My dad always worked and my mom always stayed home with us kids, even after we started school she still stayed at home. As kids when we'd get home from school we always had a snack and ALWAYS had dinner on the table at or right around 5:00 (almost always before 5:30) after dinner it was time for homework, baths, some TV and then off to bed. My mom always handeled her days with grace and made it seem as though it took no effort to pull off a home cooked meal every night (and when I say home cooked, I'm not talking about taking something out of a box... she is a great cook), to help us with our homework every day,to make sure the house was cleaned, the laundry was always done, to make sure things were going right at school and last but not least to tuck us into bed and make sure we were good for the next day.
I always took this for granted ALWAYS and will honestly tell you that there were times where I thought being a stay at home mom was lazy (sorry mom, really I am). I mean she made it look so easy, so what else was I supposed to think??
6 weeks after having Caleb I had to go back to work, I was not ready nor did I see how my new 6 week old baby could possibly be ready to be taken from his momma all day long and put into the hands of anyone else on this earth! I will admit that I put him into the hands of the most loving, most caring, most trustworthy individual out of any of my friends and that made me feel a little safer with my decision. After all, when I had him there was NO WAY Danny and I could have afforded for me to not have a job, so I was resigned to my daily life at a 8 to 5 job where I dreamed of being that "lazy stay at home mom" daily.
So fastforward to June of this past year when I finally decided to bite the bullet and quit work, Danny and I had sat down and nickel and dimed our budget (ha those of you who really know me, know that WE don't budget, but I am seriously thinking of starting to these days) and decided that if we were careful there was no reason that I couldn't stay at home and be a much larger part of Caleb's growing up and quit paying someone else to do it for us.
Yeah, so this is the part where I tell you ALL of you other stay at home mom's who have 1 or 13 children how VERY WRONG and how very skewed my perception of a stay at home mom was! I have eaten more of my words, more of my thoughts and more of my misconceived notions in the past 6 months or so than I care to even begin admit.
I mean come on, did you know that this gig is an ALL DAY event? Did you know that you don't get PAID... as in NO PAYCHECK on Friday? Did you know that even though it is required by OSHA we don't get a lunch break, or two 15 minute breaks a day? Did you know that there is all kinds of harassment involved? Did you know that there always seems to be a butt to wipe, a nose to blow or a boo boo to kiss.. day in and day out?
I'm not quite sure how my mom managed to pull it all off with the two children that God handed her and make it look so easy and so nonchaleant like it came as some sick 2nd nature to her but she did... and all I can say is thanks mom for doing all that you do and for raising us two to be the adults we are today! I can safely say you did NOT have an easy, lazy job! And on a side note, I'm sorry I ever thought that for a minute!
Being a stay at home mom is a very rewarding job, and I am more than happy to be the one to help my child grow and learn while he is still small and still wants his momma to be a part of his life,,,,, but there are days where I question my own sanity!!
You see, I was blessed to have grown up in a home with both parents and only one other sibling. My dad always worked and my mom always stayed home with us kids, even after we started school she still stayed at home. As kids when we'd get home from school we always had a snack and ALWAYS had dinner on the table at or right around 5:00 (almost always before 5:30) after dinner it was time for homework, baths, some TV and then off to bed. My mom always handeled her days with grace and made it seem as though it took no effort to pull off a home cooked meal every night (and when I say home cooked, I'm not talking about taking something out of a box... she is a great cook), to help us with our homework every day,to make sure the house was cleaned, the laundry was always done, to make sure things were going right at school and last but not least to tuck us into bed and make sure we were good for the next day.
I always took this for granted ALWAYS and will honestly tell you that there were times where I thought being a stay at home mom was lazy (sorry mom, really I am). I mean she made it look so easy, so what else was I supposed to think??
6 weeks after having Caleb I had to go back to work, I was not ready nor did I see how my new 6 week old baby could possibly be ready to be taken from his momma all day long and put into the hands of anyone else on this earth! I will admit that I put him into the hands of the most loving, most caring, most trustworthy individual out of any of my friends and that made me feel a little safer with my decision. After all, when I had him there was NO WAY Danny and I could have afforded for me to not have a job, so I was resigned to my daily life at a 8 to 5 job where I dreamed of being that "lazy stay at home mom" daily.
So fastforward to June of this past year when I finally decided to bite the bullet and quit work, Danny and I had sat down and nickel and dimed our budget (ha those of you who really know me, know that WE don't budget, but I am seriously thinking of starting to these days) and decided that if we were careful there was no reason that I couldn't stay at home and be a much larger part of Caleb's growing up and quit paying someone else to do it for us.
Yeah, so this is the part where I tell you ALL of you other stay at home mom's who have 1 or 13 children how VERY WRONG and how very skewed my perception of a stay at home mom was! I have eaten more of my words, more of my thoughts and more of my misconceived notions in the past 6 months or so than I care to even begin admit.
I mean come on, did you know that this gig is an ALL DAY event? Did you know that you don't get PAID... as in NO PAYCHECK on Friday? Did you know that even though it is required by OSHA we don't get a lunch break, or two 15 minute breaks a day? Did you know that there is all kinds of harassment involved? Did you know that there always seems to be a butt to wipe, a nose to blow or a boo boo to kiss.. day in and day out?
I'm not quite sure how my mom managed to pull it all off with the two children that God handed her and make it look so easy and so nonchaleant like it came as some sick 2nd nature to her but she did... and all I can say is thanks mom for doing all that you do and for raising us two to be the adults we are today! I can safely say you did NOT have an easy, lazy job! And on a side note, I'm sorry I ever thought that for a minute!
Being a stay at home mom is a very rewarding job, and I am more than happy to be the one to help my child grow and learn while he is still small and still wants his momma to be a part of his life,,,,, but there are days where I question my own sanity!!
posted by Krissi at
12:27 PM
3 Comments:
If you think about it, all your memories of your mom pulling the SAHM thing off flawlessly are fro I'm sure she struggled in the beginning too!
There's a BIG difference between staying home with a 2 year old and a 6 year old. It's "easy" to zoom around the house cleaning for 1 hour straight while a kindergardener is absorbed in a movie, but nearly impossible to get a 2 year old to leave you alone long enough to go to the bathroom. Don't be so hard on yourself, hun!
And remember, just because you are a SAHM now, that doesn't mean you have to be a "professional mom" with a perfectly clean house and advanced child. It IS a hard job, but you can do it!
Why do you think they charge SOOO much for daycare?? LOL Cause it's hard work!! I'm much like you, hun, even though we came from basically the same oak tree that split, lol. I'm just not cut from the tree of SAHM, I tried it for 6 weeks, and OMG, there is only so much house to clean, but mine is 7 and in school...so its different. But when she was a year old, I stayed at home with her for a year and loved it. Weird, eh, I think so! Best of luck to ya...I have all the faith in the world that YOU CAN do it!!
I'll be honest and admit that I never had much respect for SAHMs. My mom was a single parent that worked 2 jobs and whenever I thought of those moms that never had to go to work, it would seriously make my blood boil because I saw how much my mom struggled day in and day out.
And now that I am a SAHM I know first hand that I was wrong, wrong, wrong! It can be demanding, exhausting, frustrating and lonely...but man is it so worth it. My heart aches for my friends that do not get to (or choose not to) experience this. I always thougth I'd be a doctor or a renowned scientist or something prestigious like that, but nope...I was totally made for this job, boogers and all.
You are obviously doing a great job with Caleb, even when it's not always easy. Just think...when he's 30 he might actually learn to appreciate all your hard work. :)
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