I was just thinking about the way stay at home parents are regarded in society. I feel like because I am at home people think that I have more time in my day than anyone else. No, I still have the same seconds, minutes, and hours as anyone. I just have several different types of activities I have to cram into that time efficiently.
I hear it all over the place, "Well, since you stay at home, you can do...." and, "It must be nice to be at home and not have to work." Or one of my favorites, "I wish I could stay at home and do nothing." Yes, me too. Well, actually I do not wish to do nothing, that would be a lonely and boring existence. I have to say though, my days are full. I have two kids in school, and I try to volunteer there as often as possible. I have a toddler at home who does not nap much, so she is with me almost all day. She is precocious, and adorable, and active. My day is full just with taking care of her, feeding her, nursing her, teaching her, molding her into a good and decent human being.
That does not account for the time I spend with the admittedly neglected dog. He is now acting like a toddler because he sees that type of behavior gets everyone's attention. I am currently trying to communicate to him that he is not cute enough to get away with it, a point on which we do not see eye to eye.
Then there is the housework that I desperately try to stay on top of, and sometimes I succeed with flying colors, and other times I crash and burn. There are the errands, school projects, chauffering the kids to their Dad's house and back on the weekends.
I know some of you are saying, "Yeah well I do all that and I have a full time job." To that I say, somewhere, somehow, someone is picking up some part of your life. Whether it is childcare taking care of your child all day, a maid coming to help with housework, eating out more often because you are too tired to cook dinner. Whatever it is, I say, there is a HUGE difference.
I put a lot on myself, my husband will be the first one to tell anyone that. I often feel like a huge financial burden, having to ask for money for things, when I used to be a single working mom I was the bank. I controlled all income and spending. I do not wish to control everything now, but I feel like I traded a piece of my independence to be at home.
So how did I conbat that? I started a home business...go ahead, get the giggles out...I am currently an Independent Consultant for Arbonne, which is an amazing company with great products. But my problem is finding the time, support, and did I mention time in which to do what I want with my fledgling business. This company has amazing perks, products, and people. I want nothing more than to make my business wildly successful. But I cannot devote the time that I need to, why? Because I will not allow myself to take that time from my family. That is why. That is it in a nutshell. I will work around it as best I can until the baby gets older and I can devote more time to running a business.
Stay at home parents often get a raw deal. People have a tendancy to look down on us, like we are just lounging around doing nothing all day in the lap of luxury. When in reality, sometimes I feel like I work in a sweat shop....but I would not trade it for the world. I love my family, and all I really want is there unconditional love and acceptance in return.
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