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“You quit working at the school?” I was asked by yet another person.
“Yep,” I replied. “I stay home to take care of our little one.”
Before I could continue, I’d hear, “So you’re just a mom now,” as they’d walk off.
Oh the things I would tell these people if they would just listen without walking off right away!
So let me share it here with all of you! 🙂
Yes, I’m just a mom.
I just take care of my little one from the moment he wakes up each day until he goes to sleep each night. Oh, but wait, if he’s having a rough night – I’m up with him in the middle of the night too! Where’s his daddy? He’s in bed sleeping – not because he’s a bad dad but because I have the flexibility to sleep in a little later the next morning but he has to wake up.
I just make all the meals for our family each weekday. That means nursing my baby, mixing bottles, grabbing lunch for myself, feeding an older baby who has decided that today he no longer likes sweet potatoes, and ensuring my husband has a healthy meal on the table each night when he gets home from a long day of teaching and coaching.
I just keep up with the laundry for our little family of three. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s at least five loads of laundry each week. Oh, it’s worth mentioning that I do this with a little one underfoot.
I just keep a baby entertained all day long. Yes, he occasionally plays by himself, but he’s still under a year – so you see he needs someone to play with. He needs to be read to. He needs to be stimulated and kept busy.
I just keep the house clean. Keeping toys picked up is a chore in and of itself! We could do that every 30 minutes, but let’s not forget about the vacuuming, scrubbing, dusting, bathrooms, and more.
I just keep my little one clothed. You may scoff at this one, but – as he rips off his socks for the 10th time today – I put them back on because it’s well below freezing outside. Keeping clean clothes on him is a whole ‘nother challenge, but I digress…
I just keep my little guy clean. Whether it’s a simple wipe of his hands, a full fledged bath after that last diaper explosion, or the typical bath time routine.
More importantly than everything above, I just help mold a little mind. I just teach him right from wrong. I just do my best to ensure he is a productive member of society so that he can pay taxes, social security, and more to benefit you – the one who has no business asking me this rhetorical question to start with.
So while you say I’m just a mom, I know that there is much to be said about that just that you scoff at, and I won’t let your comments get to me. I will continue to be just the mom doing everything possible to get my little boy the best possible start in life, help my family prosper and grow, and be the best I can be each day.
This post is linked up with Squishable Baby, The Modest Mom Blog, Classical Homemaking, Raising Homemakers, Worshipful Living, I Choose Joy
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never never say I’m just a Mon..Its the most demanding word and hardest to keep it all in check..Just a Mom is a honor!!!!!!!!!!
Heather, I think this reaction is not personal, but a systemic issue. For so many years, women who entered the work place were seem as damaging to families. This only changed when society needed women to enter the workplace post the 1960’s, were acceptance, pay scales, and normality for women in management and beyond was hard earned. So for some to see an educated women, with high earning potential, who lives within a family, where she has the option to maintain either lifestyle, the choice to become a stay-at-home mother may be perceived as flippant and unnecessary. Some women who may not have the option of staying home, and who feel guilty because they have to leave their children day in and day out to work, may be bothered for not that they have the same choices that you currently have. I’m sure these comments are not a reflection of you, but of themselves. Consider this, how many stay-at-home mothers scoff at women who work-at-home or are stay-at-home wives, without children? It’s a two way street- and an issue that women as a whole have seemingly not bridged themselves. Thank you for sharing your article, loved it!
I agree that it runs sooo much deeper than me! As a society we seem quick to judge, and I’m quickly learning that everyone does what they do for a reason. To each their own! 🙂