After being a stay-at-home mom for 7 years (I worked, but from home--keeping books for Ryan's biz, building my own business, and teaching online courses), I'm finding working every day to be rather rough on me. And Mr. Mom is having a rough time, too!
I once heard that women who work outside the home have higher stress levels than women who stay home with their kids, and men who stay home have higher stress levels than men who work outside the home. According to the study, it has something to do with the way our brains are wired. I have to say that Ryan & I are growing tired of the mixed up roles and we are more than ready to get life back to normal!
I used to think that being a stay at home mom was pretty rough, and I envied my friends who worked--after all, they got grown up conversations and a sense of worth and, of course, a paycheck! But now that I'm teaching ground courses M-F, I'm realizing how much I miss my kids. I miss the days of grading papers with my laptop while the kids play outside and making phone calls with Josyan in my lap. I miss taking an hour to play outside in the sunshine or 'dig' in the garden. And I miss my clean house--the one where the dishes are done, the laundry is put away, and everything is in order. I feel like my home & my family are falling apart at the seams!
This thankfully short, but necessary experiment in being a working mom has really helped me appreciate even more being a mom who stays home. And it's helped me to understand more fully my friends and family members who don't have that luxury, making me even more passionate about helping moms find ways to be home with their kids. It's not a piece of cake, but working my own business from home and being available for my kids is worth the extra hour or two I need to spend to grow my business.
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3 comments:
I have always worked and I envy the stay-at-home moms! I wish I would be able to work less and have more time with my son.
Are there plans in place to change back to the traditional roles? I know that I have NO desire to work away from home and am glad that I don't have to!
Krista-If you're willing to put in a little extra effort, it's definitely possible to build a business that will allow you to work from home and be there with your kiddos. I encourage you to check out my book, License to Play. www.worryfreemom.com
Kelly--Life should get back to normal in about 4 weeks, when my ground classes end for the summer. When our house sells, we'll be moving so that Ryan can find work & I can be home with the kids & work on building my business and writing another book!
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