This may sound obtuse or just plain stupidly simple.
Being a stay-at-home mom is a JOB. I'm not complaining when I say this... just stating a fact. If you have it in your head that you're going to spend the day at home doing what you want to, you're miserably wrong. If you wake up, get dressed, and pretend that you're going to have a beautiful & relaxing day at home, in about ten minutes you'll be bitter and pissed off. If you wake up at five am to have a few minutes alone & be able to shower, then start your "job" at seven am and know you probably won't stop working until nine pm (IF your kids sleep through the night) and then acknowledge that after they're asleep you'll be busy doing laundry cleaning emails vacuuming cleaning laundry & working out - then you'll be set.
Now, I have it good. I'm a stay-at-home mama who lives with a stay-at-home daddy. We're still trying to make me more the primary caregiver during the day so Nick can study or do whatever God calls him to here, but we are easing into that. Still, at seven o'clock tonight, Elias was asleep & Glory was napping... all I wanted to do was sit and browse the internet. But bottles were dirty, fridge was cluttered, counter was trashed, socks & shoes scattered everywhere and I knew if I sat down... getting up was going to be a hundred times harder.
I think it's all in the perspective though... if you know what you're getting into, you'll be a lot better off. I'm not saying working moms have it any easier - it's all just different, no comparison. I've done both and I think that what I'm doing now is right for me, right for our family... but it's so different.
The funny thing is, I still crazy love my job. I still can't wait to do it tomorrow. I can't wait to do it for the next kids in our life, for the next however many years. However, when days get rough - my mantra easily turns into "elementary school comes in a few years... elementary school comes in a few years. just wait for elementary school."
On a funny note, please look at Nick's blog about Elias' junked up face. First the virus, then the lip, now the black eye. It's bound to look WAY worse tomorrow. I'm so thankful Lauren lives with us and was present for both accidents so she can testify on our behalf that we were not being negligent parents, nor did we beat our child. He's just a bit clumsy & still learning his feet.
4 comments:
You are an amazing housewife slash stay at home mom...I would hire you in a sec.
I am glad I am here to see how hard you work and how hard the job really is.
I will never forget my time here at home with you and how hard this job is.
You are the best.
it IS the toughest job. I've always said that. But great that you have the perspective of both so early on. ly!
I hear ya. Having a babe is such a lifetyle change. I can't even remember what I did with my spare time before. I think it's awesome that you and Nick get to stay home with your little bugs. Wes' grandmas watch him during the day and thank God for them. I wish wish wish I didn't have to work. I'm out of the house at 8 am and not home until 6 pm. I spent some qt with Wes when I get home, get dinner ready, spend more qt with him, get him to sleep and then I have to clean, laundry, clean, laundry - and I'm lucky if I get to bed before midnight. I'm tired.
This is from salary.com on what a stay at home mom is 'WORTH'...enjoy. :)
"Waltham, MA, May 3rd, 2006 -- Salary.com,Inc., the compensation experts, announced today the 2006 update to their valuation of a Stay at Home Mom's job and for the first time addressed the question of what a Working Mom's job is worth. Salary.com consulted with Stay at Home and Working Moms and determined the top 10 jobs that make up a mom's job description. If paid, Stay at Home Moms would earn $134,121 annually (up from 2005's salary of $131,471). Working Moms would earn $85,876 annually for the "mom job" portion of their work, in addition to their actual "work job" salary.
Salary.com found the job titles that best matched a mom's definition of her work to be (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO and psychologist. New job titles that made the list in 2006 include psychologist, laundry machine operator, computer operator, and facilities manager. The job title of nurse fell out of the top 10 this year."
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