That's what I made last year. Ok, well, not exactly. I didn't make any actual money. But, according to Real Simple Magazine and sa.lary.com, that is what a stay-at-home mom would make if she was paid for everything that she did in a day. Not too shabby.
So why is it that there is still such a stigma attached to being a stay-at-home mom? A representative in Arizona called stay-at-home moms leeches! She went on to say that she was joking. Not the funniest joke that I've ever heard.
Being a stay-at-home mom has been way harder than I thought it would be. Like many childless people, I used to wonder what stay-at-home parents did during the day. How much work could one (or two) baby really be? Doesn't baby sleep a few times per day? I didn't give it a ton of thought pre-twins, but have been brought back to this time by questioning friends and strangers.
It has taken me a long time to write this blog entry. I've written parts, deleted them, rewritten them and then deleted them again. I've written a massive paragraph outlining the chaos that is my day and then promptly deleted it. I've read angry blog posts by stay-at-home moms. They state that working moms look down on them. By no means do I feel like this. I have mom friends who work and those who are home with their children. We all look at each other in the same way: as moms. I don't feel the need to attack anyone. We all make choices that are best for our families.
Stay-at-home moms, like working moms (and dads), work their butts off. Our days are difficult (and easy) in different ways. It is hard at times to not be able to attach an hourly rate to my day, although quite honestly, if I had one, it should be variable based on Quinn's mood! There are also hours and days that I would consider to be priceless. No job or paycheck trumps the joy of watching my 2-year olds run around the backyard together giggling and playing.
It is hard to be misunderstood and tough to know that someone considers your job to be easy (yes, I've actually heard that before). I'm getting better at letting those comments wash right over me, but I'm not there yet. At the end of the day, I realize that I'm raising two little people and there really isn't anything more important than that :)
Being a stay-at-home mom has been way harder than I thought it would be. Like many childless people, I used to wonder what stay-at-home parents did during the day. How much work could one (or two) baby really be? Doesn't baby sleep a few times per day? I didn't give it a ton of thought pre-twins, but have been brought back to this time by questioning friends and strangers.
It has taken me a long time to write this blog entry. I've written parts, deleted them, rewritten them and then deleted them again. I've written a massive paragraph outlining the chaos that is my day and then promptly deleted it. I've read angry blog posts by stay-at-home moms. They state that working moms look down on them. By no means do I feel like this. I have mom friends who work and those who are home with their children. We all look at each other in the same way: as moms. I don't feel the need to attack anyone. We all make choices that are best for our families.
Stay-at-home moms, like working moms (and dads), work their butts off. Our days are difficult (and easy) in different ways. It is hard at times to not be able to attach an hourly rate to my day, although quite honestly, if I had one, it should be variable based on Quinn's mood! There are also hours and days that I would consider to be priceless. No job or paycheck trumps the joy of watching my 2-year olds run around the backyard together giggling and playing.
It is hard to be misunderstood and tough to know that someone considers your job to be easy (yes, I've actually heard that before). I'm getting better at letting those comments wash right over me, but I'm not there yet. At the end of the day, I realize that I'm raising two little people and there really isn't anything more important than that :)
I'm home 5 days and go to work two (both just 6 hour days tops). Those two days at work are like a mini vacation! SAH is HARD! Right now I'm out of work with pregnancy stuff and I really do miss those two days "break". I love that I'm able to stay at home with Finley but Phew can it be draining.
ReplyDeleteYes. I agree. And also, never say never.
ReplyDeleteTwo things that I've done that I will not do again :)