Monday, July 09, 2012

Staying Home

Good Morning, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

First, I want to give Faith a huge THANK YOU for giving me a shout out on her blog. If you haven't checked her out, you should! She is one of the most down to earth bloggers that I follow! What I like best about her (it's hard to think of just one, but I must) is that she is genuinely a fun person. She doesn't just blog about her super weekends or great finds, she blogs about Life, Love, & Marriage, in it's truest form! Thanks again Faith, you're the best!


OK, back to the subject at hand! The subject of staying home has come up a lot in my daily conversations lately. I get the "do you really like staying home" question at least once a week, mostly by family or friends that don't have kids.

To answer that question, I will start from the very beginning. When I was pregnant with Jordan I was sure that I would go back after my maternity leave. In my opinion, I needed to work. I got my first job at 16, worked my way through college, and had been at the same job for 4 years at the time. I didn't love the people that I worked for, but I truly loved my job. Ashish and I went back and forth for nearly 7 months. He used to joke and say "that woman is going back to work. If I can't stay home, she can't stay home." You'd have to truly know my husband to understand but he would never make that decision for me. He knew me, he knew that I needed the social outlet that was work. I'm a people person, I enjoy conversation, get togethers, and all parties.

Two weeks before Christmas, I made the decision to quit my job. Just like that. Of course I gave a two week notice, which my boss declined, but I quit. I packed up my belongings from my classroom, handed over my keys, and said "I wish you all the best in life and have a Merry Christmas." There wasn't any one incident that led me to this decision. I was working a job were I was unappreciated and over worked (isn't everyone?). I was blessed to have the choice to continue working or stay home. I sat down and weighed the disadvantages against the advantages. The advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.
Advantages:
  • I got to see Jordan every morning.
  • It made the attempt to breastfeed so much easier
  • On the days that Ashish was off, we got to spend time as a family
  • I made new friends
  • I got to have lunch with my dad every Friday
Disadvantages:
  • Always being "on call." I could never use the excuse "I gotta get up in the morning, can you get the baby?"
  • The social aspect, until I made other SAH mommy friends
  • Not getting a paycheck. We live comfortably on one paycheck but I was used to making my own money.
So, the question..."Do you really like staying at home?" My answer is "YES." Being at home is a much harder task than most people know. Ashish works crazy hours, he has days off during the week some weeks, and he works every third weekend. If I worked, I wouldn't see him much during the week and on that third weekend I wouldn't see him at all. I wasn't comfortable putting Jordan in daycare as a baby. I am was a paranoid parent.

If you have the option to stay home, I would say "give it a try" or "try it part time." Staying home isn't the best thing for everyone. There may come a day when it gets to be too much or the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Enjoy it if you can and if you can't, know that your kids will still be well rounded as the next kid!

Have a Happy Monday Ladies!

7 comments:

Faith said...

fun? me? no way! haha.
you are the best! thank you so much for the kind words. truly appreciate them :) you have made my morning yet again, haha!

it is funny ... i never thought i would want to be a SAHM but the more i begin to think about it i really think it would be ideal. someone taking care of my future tiny baby kinda scares me. but unfortunately we do not have the option because financially we wouldn't be able to do it :(

my mom was a SAHM and she absolutely loved it. she said that when she was younger and someone asked her what she wanted to be when she got older she always said house wife. i think she meant SAHM, haha. :)

Ashley said...

I love, love, love this post. What type of teacher were you before you had Jordan? I was a high school teacher. I never thought I would be a SAHM, but I absolutely love it. It forces me to be really good with time-management and allows me to try new things.

Danielle said...

I taught a Pre-K program for 3 years prior to getting pregnant with Jordan. I miss teaching terribly but I really love being home with my little guy! Plus, I get to act out my teaching skills on him. LOL!

Danielle said...

I want to be a house wife too but I'll settle for SAHM. LOL! Despite how much money you make, going from two incomes to one is a huge leap. I hope that when the time comes for a Baby B then everything will work out for you and you will be exactly where you're meant to be!

Abby the Tiny Traveler said...

I long to be a stay at home mom. I have so much mommy guilt leaving my Abby behind as I go work long residency hours. I have decided that when I am done with residency I am definitely working part time until our loans are paid off, then it's SAHM time for me!!

Pegster said...

Faith is so awesome, I so love her blog too.

I never thought about being a SAHM, my mom worked for as long as I can remember (she was a single mom for a long time). Once I had my baby thought, I wish I had the option of staying at home at least the first few years. Unfortunately, it's just not financially possible for us :( and I don't want to wait to be there financially in order to have more kids.

We are very lucky to live near family so we always have help. My little man didn't have to go to daycare until he was 14 months and I hope that baby #2 and #3 (I know getting ahead of myself here) get to have that too.

I am always a little jealous of those who get to stay at home, I feel like I am missing out. Enjoy being a SAHM.

Renae said...

Love this post! I had the privilege to stay at home with my first daughter during her earlier years. Off and on with my second child-it was a blessing. Luckily for us my husband and I had always had a schedule were either he or I would be at home with them. I also got the same questions and comments from family and friends..which always seemed weird to me because who wouldn’t want to be able to stay at home with their kids. But, to each his/her own-now that my girls are a little older and I’m back to work and have a total appreciation for any other moms/dads out there doing their thing with their kids.