Wednesday, June 02, 2004

What does "stay at home mom" mean to you?

To some people it means someone who is available all day, every day, to run errands, play chauffeur, what have you. They also think that your house should be perfectly clean all the time, because you have all day to do it. They forget or don't know that kids need attention all the time, and the house gets messier when people are home all day than it does when no one is there. I'd rather sit with Aidan and read to him than clean anyway. LOL

Today I took Howards cousin-in-law to pay her bills. Because she is almost blind and can't take herself, and she can't use checks "Because I get too confused", her husband hurt his back yesterday and couldn't take her. I love them, don't get me wrong, and they have done a lot for us since we moved here. So I spent 4.5 hours driving her around. Aidan missed his morning nap, and was late for his afternoon nap. So I have a grumpy, whiney boy on my hands this afternoon. I know that I could say no, but it's hard for me. I'm working on the door mat thing, but ... I'm not doing very well at it right now. I'm also grouchy because it's hot, and I have a headache. So I'm venting. Forgive me if I offended you. But remember, most stay at home Moms are pretty busy. Most of them will probably love to help you if you give them enough notice, and are aware that pre-schoolers need naps, so keep it short.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stay at home moms are both lucky and, well, tortured, in my opinion. And staying at home is a lot of work. And, for the record, let us remind everyone that not only are stay at home moms working all the time, but moms that work are working all the time too. Weekends are not the time for rest and relaxation that they once were in the pre-parenting life. Weekends are, well, more work! :)

I do think that it's great you took her to pay her bills, but I also appreciate your advice about trying to plan ahead and keeping the activities short.

working momOh, and P.S. Single parents have it tough, even when they live as a family. Single parents parenting together is not the same as coupled parents parenting together.

Jodie said...

It's just tough to be a mom whether you stay at home or work outside. Anyone who can be a mom and manage a clean house without outside help is a miracle worker. If I could do it all over again, I'd stay at home too.