Stay-at-home mom.
You know... she just stays home all day. Relaxes. Does this 'n that. Some fun meal prep. Relaxes some more. NOT. If you are a mother you know that you are always working. Every stay-at-home mom is a work-at-home mom.
Laundry. Breakfast. Dusting. Dishes. Lunch. Dishes. Meal prep. More Laundry. Folding clean laundry. Dinner. It doesn't stop. We don't get paid. The only thing that makes it bearable is knowing we are doing this for our family. For those little smiles and hugs. For those satisfied faces after a good meal. For little innocent eyes. For the sweet feeling of tucking your little one into bed at night and wishing them sweet dreams.
I am a WAHM. I spend about 2-3 hours every day working during nap times and bed times. That means I can't use that time for housework or for myself. Housework is done while the kids are awake, and we all know how that goes. Like shoveling snow while it's snowing! I wouldn't change this though. I love being home with them. I know if I worked outside the home, it would be hard in a different way. I just don't think I could later say "I'm glad I didn't stay home with them." For me personally, it's not something I would feel good about though it may work for other moms.
I always wonder how moms that work outside the home do it. Working 9-5, or whatever hours, and then coming home to more work. I am sure that isn't easy! How do you do it? I'm sure it's nice to have work and home life separate, sometimes I crave that, but boy that must be really hard! I don't think it is something I would be capable of. Just the idea of having to get ready, dressed, and drive somewhere every day seems daunting with little kids in the picture. Then coming home to the duties of a chef, maid, and laundromat (just to name a few).
So if you work or not, stay home or not, all moms have this fine balance to find. It seems so elusive at times. It's also so different for each of us. Some moms can't bear to have a day without their children. Some feel good about working outside the home. All moms work when they are home, we can agree on that, right?
What's your ideal work/life situation? What are you actually living with now? Do you feel as if you're always working?
Image: by SportSuburban via Creative Commons
Image: by SportSuburban via Creative Commons
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I feel as if im always working although, i don't work outside of the house or inside, by saying that i mean i don't actually have a another job on the side and for what i want to have at this point i just don't have enough time to dedicate it.
ReplyDeleteOf course i always find something to do, no it's not cleaning that part i neglect although recently i have to pick it up because my 8 month old crawling and picking every little thing she can find on the floor.
I would call myself more of a outside of the house helping others. Involved in church and my kids with me most of the time.
Im no longer morning bird but im a night awl who trying to find time to relax after everyone is a sleep.
For me work takes over on priority for cleaning for now. But I have kept the house more clean recently for that same reason that Baby T is crawling and putting specks of anything he can find in his mouth :) Guess that's a good thing because I like a clean house! Now I just need to make time for it and stay up later working. We don't get outside of the house much, though I like to help others - we only have one car and once hubby leaves we can't go anywhere. I was always a night owl, but I have to admit I like getting up early in the morning if I get at least 6-7 hours of sleep. I haven't gotten that much sleep in a long time, since Baby T was born last November!
DeleteI know I am always working. I work from home but not sitting behind a computer, I am a property manager that lives on site with my family, and I do most of the maintenance around the complex while hubby works outside the home. I n between fixing clogged toilets and prepping vacated apartments for the next tenant, I take care of my tween daughter who has epilepsy. Not to mention laundry, dishes, etc, etc, etc, etc. yes, I work looooong days and sometimes the middle of the night if there is an emergency call. I wish I could tell you I have full time staff to help me, but there is none. The only things we contract out is our a/c, flooring, and major electrical. Yeah, I am tired but hubby needs me to help him pay the bills and what better way than by working at home so I can still be there when our daughter needs me.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really tough! But at least you get to be with your daughter :) Is she in school or do you homeschool her?
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ReplyDeleteOMG! this really hits home. I can't wait to let my husband read this!
I've learned that husbands will not really know what it's like, unless you leave them at home with kids for a day. They'll appreciate what you do a lot more! :)
DeleteI feel like I am always working. I am in the process of adding some part time work to the mix.
ReplyDeleteSo now instead of feeling like you work 20 hours a day, it will feel like 24 lol ;)
DeleteI'm a stay at home mom - but I agree, it's no vacation around here! Sometimes I wish I went to work all day so I had an excuse to slack on housework sometimes!
ReplyDelete:) I do wish for that too sometimes. But since I work at home and stay home, my husband sometimes gets the illusion that since I'm here it should be clean. I have to remind him every now and then that I do actually work and housework needs to wait sometimes.
DeleteI totally agree that ALL moms are working moms. I stay at home with my kids and it can be exhausting, but I feel so fortunate to be able to have that option. The one thing I disagree with is that you wouldn't be able to be away from your kids all day and then come home to all the home responsiblities. So many moms just don't have an option and I think that we all rise to the occasion to the best of our ability.
ReplyDeleteI agree, whatever the situation, we all just try to do our best :)
DeleteWe're definitely all working moms. Chasing around a rambunctious toddler all day, keeping him from climbing the bookshelves, riding the dogs, and swimming in the toilet (that was fun :P), plus making dinner, home upkeep, pet care. At least at non-parenting jobs you get a break. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think that the most work is just keeping the kids from wreaking havoc! You know how sometimes spouses wonder 'what you do all day', well one day you just don't do anything for real and then they would see what actually happens when you stop spending your time on preventing chaos :) I can only imagine what the house would look like if I just let my kids be and read a book all day instead lol
DeleteWhen my kids were little I felt like I was always working, even though I was a stay-at-home mom. Moms are always thinking of ways to give our children learning experiences, and what we need to do to take care of our homes and families. There seems to be no down time. It can be exhausting, but a very rewarding job to have. :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a job like no other, for sure! No down time, no pay, but the rewards of unconditional love from the kids (though maybe not through the teenage phase, depending on how you raise them lol)
DeleteDefinitely should be WAHM and not SAHM! All are over worked and underpaid!
ReplyDeleteI feel really lucky to be able to stay at home, but some days I get a bit jealous that my husband gets to go talk to only adults for the day. It seems that there is never enough time to get my to list done even though I have made it a lot shorter(more realistic). I am mostly okay with it now and all the really important things, play time, meals, and cuddles with my husband have time made for them.
ReplyDeleteHa, me too! :) He comes home not wanting to talk much because he's been talking to adults all day. I get my adult 'talk' dose from my blog and occasionally having friends over.
DeleteSo true!! I have a 13 year old daughter and 5 week old baby. I forgot how hard it was to get anything done with a new little one. I feel like I work harder than my husband some days. It's tiring! I should refer him to this post =)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be a first time mommy in less than a month so I don't know yet how others do it! I plan to go back to work a 9-5 and i already know how hard this is going to be not just leaving my baby but dealing with things after work, like housework, dinner, etc. how can i fit all that into 1 day? I admire all moms the ones that stay home and the ones who go to work, both of those is hard work!
ReplyDeleteliz.ticona@yahoo.com
I loved being a SAHM in the past. Now I have to work to make extra money for our family due to the economy. It is alot of work, more for a SAHM than a normal job. I give my respect to every SAHM for what they do.
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