The Meanings in My Life

What It Means to Be a Stay-at-Home Mommy:

It means…

…Always, always getting up in the middle of the night when one of your children is crying, even if your husband is already tending to them. And not going back to sleep until they do. Ever.

…Enduring lack of respect from more people than I care to count, even those who you think do (and should) respect your decision to stay home.

…some days waiting until noon before you get to shower, simply because you couldn’t drag your sorry, tired butt out of bed before they woke up.

…envying those who occasionally get to leave the house by themselves, even if it’s to go to a crappy job, because you can’t take one.more.second of the insanity that is toddler mentality.

…wiping everything multiple times a day – counters, dishes, highchairs, noses, bums, and occasionally transformers.

…being responsible for the well-being of (in my case) 3 tiny human beings and praying daily that the decisions you make are the right ones (and won’t scar them for life or cost you millions in therapy).

…being judged by those who think they are superior to you because they don’t think they’ve ever made a single mistake. Or because they chose to co-sleep and you didn’t. Or because they breast-fed for a year and you only made it five months. Or because they taught their child how to use sign language and your sign language involves pointing and grunting in the general direction of what you/they want. Etc. etc.

…trying not to judge when you see someone making a “mistake” in parenting because everyone has their own style.

…trying to respect yourself when it feels like no one else does.

…giving up your lovely dining room (including the furniture) so that your kids have a (never) large enough area to play in.