Here's the thing you need to know about being a stay home Mom - your job never ends, your employees are constantly yelling and/or throwing hard objects at your head and there is rarely ever any appreciation for a job well done. Of course there are those moms out there who love their job more than anything else and could never imagine something more rewarding than staying home with your children. Yes, you will hear stay home moms saying this to those who have never performed this job, but we all know that when they are home alone with the wee ones and one is screaming because "she wanted to do the buckle herself!" and your son currently hates you because you made him turn off the computer after an hour and there is a sink full of dishes and you have to make dinner in 1/2 hour, they hate their job too.
Yesterday when i came home in the afternoon from a morning full of errands and park time, i had to first clean up the breakfast mess then throw together some lunch. There were dishes to do, laundry piling up and my shoes were sticking to the kitchen floor...again. It was then that i realized that this, all this shit, is going to happen everyday for the rest of my life. There will always be dishes to wash, laundry to do, meals to be made and cleaned up after. And lets not forget the sticky floors.
Some days it's just a little overwhelming, and it's very easy to understand why a stay home mom would hire a 'gardener/lawn boy' just to have a wild affair. If only I had the energy.
But here's the thing...when my husband does a good job at work, his boss will take him out to lunch and tell him how great he is and how much he/the company appreciates all his hard work. Or he gets a bonus, or a raise or at the very least some respect from his staff or co-workers.
When a stay home mom does a good job, like making sure the kids are eating healthy meals, getting some exercise, cleaning up the house and generally nurturing and improving upon the next generation, you know what we get? Unless you count and occasional 'suck it' from my son, absolutely nothing.
Yesterday in the midst of the self pity party (don't worry, next time i'll remember to send out invitations) I realized that it's because i do this thankless job that i really like running. I don't have to think about it, I don't have to cooperate with anyone or be part of a team and worry about everyone working together and no one getting left out, and there is an end. Whether it's once around the lake, 30 more minutes, or the finish line there is an end to the running and a feeling of accomplishment upon completion. Running gives me instant satisfaction. Of course, there really is nothing better than when your little ones spontaneously give you a kiss or tell you how much they love you. But in the mean time, I'll be out running.
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Congratulations to all you stay home moms out there. I used to work Mon, Wed, Fri as a paid employee, and was home with Nicholas Tues, Thurs and weekends. People would say, wow, you have the best of both worlds. While having the variety was very nice, my usual reply was, I do have the best of both worlds, until I remember that most days I feel like I am crappy at both of my jobs. There is no easy solution, just keep up the good work!!
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