MOM

Monday, April 26, 2010

Usually, when people make strange comments to me, I blow them off. However, lately people have been coming to me time and again with statements like, “I don’t know HOW you stay home with your baby. I can’t imagine doing it. I would be SO BORED!”

I find myself highly offend by statements like this because I NEVER, EVER find myself bored or without something to do.

When my husband and I made the decision that I would resign from my teaching job and stay home with our daughter, then six months old, it was not a decision that was made lightly. We made this decision with many things in mind, because we would be cutting our income in half.

1. We do not want to be three strangers living under one roof.
2. We want to raise our children ourselves.
3. We need someone to be in charge of the grocery shopping, meal planning, bill paying, and every other little thing that gets taken care of on the weekends.
4. We want to show our child(ren) that it isn’t about how much money you have.
5. We want to be a Godly example of a marriage and family for our child(ren).
6. We don’t want to be 18 years down the road and realize once our children move out that we are strangers.

Among other things, the above were discussions that we had before making the decision that I would stay home with our children.

I have been a stay-at-home Mom for nearly one year now, and it is truly the best decision we ever made. In this transitional year, I have come to realize that I work MUCH harder as a stay-at-home Mom than I ever did as a teacher. I get more done in one day than I EVER did as a teacher! I also feel as though I am happier and more impactful in my child’s life now.

All in all, I’m not JUST the resident bill-payer, laundry-doer, cleaning lady, chef, boo-boo-kisser, band-aid applicator, and mess-picker-upper. I’m the Mom, and I wouldn’t trade my job for all the money in the world. We are better parents, better spouses, and a better family for it.

If you are a stay-at-home-Mom who questions your position in the world, someone considering staying home with your children, someone who wants to stay home someday, or someone who “can’t IMAGINE staying home because you’d be so bored,” think about the impact you can make on your family. If it isn’t for you, I totally understand, but some of us are living our dream as Moms who stay home.