"The homemaker has the ultimate career.
All other careers exist for one purpose only, to support the ultimate career"
- C S Lewis
Baby Emma is trying to cut her first tooth. Apparently she is not going to be as easy with this as Lily was. The painful squeals mixed with the inability to be comforted is making for some fun days for me. She refuses teethers, washcloths or anything frozen which is making it difficult for the tooth to break through. Add this stress to a constantly whiny 2 year old and you have my day. However, Lily is probably no more whiny today than she is on a regular basis but since my nerves are already shot it amplifies every tiny annoyance to the extreme.
We all have these days; Days where all you want to do is go into your bedroom, lock the door, turn off the lights, crawl in the bed and have a pity party (actual party hat optional.) I have had a hard time over the past couple of years coming to the realization that these days are normal and that these feelings are okay. It is and they are. Stay at home moms are allowed to get frustrated with their job just as anyone else gets with theirs. As a stay at home mom there is rarely a question of, "how was your day" as there is when you go out to a job on a daily basis. People tend to assume that all a SAHM (stay at home mom) does is sit around, eat bon bons, watch soaps and ignore their kids all day so why should she be stressed? This thought process is laughable to me. The majority of people who have these ridiculous notions about SAHM couldn't hack it for a week and they'd be running back out the door to their 9-5. A few things to think about:
*As a SAHM there are no set hours, it's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
*As a SAHM there is no lunch break. You're lucky if you get to scarf down your 2 year olds leftovers while holding the baby before she feeds them to the cat.
*As a SAHM there are no sick days. You get sick, you call out. We get sick, we take an aleve and try not to throw up on the baby.
*As a SAHM there is no privacy. You have a cubicle, office or desk. We can't even shut the door to the bathroom without having the 2 year old trying to pry the door open with a screwdriver she somehow managed to finagle out of a locked cabinet.
*As a SAHM there is no "water cooler conversation." You get to make off color jokes and snide comments about Betty in accounting. We get to comment on how Jack in Wyoming dressed Chica Chica on Sprout today. It's a total lack of adult conversation to the point where you think by the time your child leaves for kindergarten she will officially be smarter than you from brain inactivity.
Am I complaining, yes and no. Yes, it's exhausting. Yes, there are days where I wish I could call out and take a "personal day." Yes, I may be gray by the time I hit 30 (I'm currently 29.) But also; No, I wouldn't give up missing all the milestones that I have been able to see. No, I wouldn't give up that one hug that makes the whole day seem to have been a bad dream. No, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to give my girls the one on one attention that they get daily. My point is, there is so much more to being a SAHM than most people think about.
Salary.com recently posted their findings on what a current SAHM is worth.
Check it out for yourself:
So next time you see a SAHM at the grocery store wrangling her screaming kids from grabbing the chocolate that is placed at the perfect height for them to grab in the checkout line and looking like she hasn't showered in 3 days, keep in mind, she probably hasn't, and your dirty looks aren't changing the situation so keep them to yourself and enjoy your Starbucks while discussing Dancing with Stars with your coworkers then retreat to your cubicle to Facebook stalk your ex for the day.
In reality, though, I love my job. Is it exhausting? Yes! Is it frustrating? Yes, but what job isn't? Would I want to do anything else? Absolutely not. The main difference in my job and all others is that when I am having a bad day on the job my day can be turned around by a simple hug from my "boss." Lawsuits would probably accompany that solution at any other work place. But it's really that simple.
In reality, though, I love my job. Is it exhausting? Yes! Is it frustrating? Yes, but what job isn't? Would I want to do anything else? Absolutely not. The main difference in my job and all others is that when I am having a bad day on the job my day can be turned around by a simple hug from my "boss." Lawsuits would probably accompany that solution at any other work place. But it's really that simple.
Lily just laid down in my lap and said, "I love you mama. You're my best friend."
Pity party on hold. (At least until tomorrow.)
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