Being a stay-at-home mom is a H-A-R-D job. I know, because I was one for seven years before I headed back to work. (That’s also how I know that being a working mom is H-A-R-D!) I think sometimes what makes it harder is the perception of others that stay-at-home moms don’t really DO much. Just because you’re not earning a monetary wage doesn’t mean you’re not working your butt off. I know this and I’m guessing YOU know this, but for all the people who don’t…one mom, Kristy, took to the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page to clear things up for ya.
I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing Kristy was the recent recipient of some criticism or unkind comments about what she “does all day.” She says:
What a Stay-at-Home Mom Does All Day
People assume that a stay-at-home mom stays home all day so that should mean the home is never a mess and everything is spic and span and if it’s not then that must mean she did absolutely nothing, sat down eating bon bons all day.
They tend to forget one small tiny detail. There is a human or humans that she is in charge of and responsible for meeting their every need, want, desire, and more. They forget that she:
- does clean only to have the kid projectile vomit all over the floor she just mopped
- finished the dishes from last nights dinner only to have it fill up with breakfast and lunch dishes
- picks up all the toys during their nap time only to have even more toys scattered everywhere when they awake
- didn’t even have time to enjoy a hot meal that day let alone sit down all day eating those magical bon bons people keep referring to
- maybe sat down for longer than fifteen minutes 99% of the time it’s because she has a baby attached to her boob so there is not much else she could or even should be doing in those moments, so why not tune into Netflix during those feeding sessions. Just cause you see she is all caught up on her shows, it doesn’t mean that’s all she did that day, nor does that mean that would have been her first choice for entertainment either.
Maybe she would have preferred to go to the mall or get a pedicure, but she couldn’t because she can’t really leave the house. Either because the partner has their only vehicle at work in “the real world” or it’s just not ideal to go out with baby/babies in tow. That she:
- craves even just five precious minutes to herself where she can get her head on straight but having to fantasize about it instead
- is envious of her partners thirty minute commute to and from work to be alone listening to a great audiobook or something other than, “The wheels on the bus.”
- counts down the minutes until her partner gets home so she could have someone to talk to that doesn’t say “Goo goo ga ga” back.
She wants, no in fact she needs to hear the every detail of your day, no matter how small.
So you think being a stay-at-home mom means she has all the time for the home and not a care in the world? You’re sadly mistaken!
