This blog is a little jumpy and short, but forgive me. I've been pretty sick and I'm a little scatterbrained. Bear with me..
The idea of being a stay-at-home mother, for some reason, seems to be looked down on heavily anymore. I'll be honest: I can think of nothing I would rather be.
For those who don't know, I have no children. I don't even have a husband anymore, really, unless you count the guy that, for some reason, doesn't want to be married to me but still doesn't sign divorce papers...but I digress.
I want to have children. I want atleast 2, and sometimes I have moments where I think "the more the merrier."
I want to be able to be home with my kids, though. I think their are some fundamental benefits to being home with your children before they are of school age and then being with them or there for them when they are in school.
I want the ability to make them breakfasts, pack them lunches, have after-school snacks waiting, and make them dinner, put them to bed everynight. I want to be their homework-helper and their confidant. I want to be able to go and have lunch with them during the day if they ask me to, or go on their field trips with them. My parents were never the chaperones, but I always felt lucky to be friends with the kid whose parent was. We got to have more fun. We felt like we were on our own trip.
I want to know what is going on in the lives of my children. I want to be more involved and be there when they are sick. I don't want to have a child who I have to catch up with when I'm home from work.
And most importantly, I remember the years when my parents both worked and I came home to an empty house. I was lonely, whether I admitted it or not, and of course I wasn't allowed to go out and do anything until they were home, so I felt like I missed out. I had to grow up faster, which I never regret, but occasionally I wonder if I missed things.
If my parents could live with eight children on one income, and they are all the more happier for how things happened now, 30 years later (almost 31) then I have full faith I could do the same.
There are sacrifices that happen either way, but I'd rather sacrifice the newest toys and gadgets than sacrifice crucial times in the developmental years of my children.
As I read this blog I realized I would not have had it any other way in my life. I was a stay at home mom 99% of the time.
ReplyDeleteOver the years, there was occasion for me to work outside the home. One of the duties of wife/mother is to help wherever help is needed. Working outside the home was never a first choice for me. Helping and carrying my part of the responsibility in my marriage was of the absolute highest importance. I will, at this point, ~smiling~ say; that a break from the routine was welcomed.
I am blessed to see Angie's comment. To know that I may have made a difference in a child's life. I pray I have left a "good" example for my children.
I love you, my Pee Wee.