On becoming a stay at home mom (or SAHM, for those "in the biz")

Here is yet another blog post dividing working moms and stay-at-home moms. This one coming from me, a mommy who worked out of the home in the corporate world for the first 2.5 years of my baby's life, and who has now been staying home with her for the past 8 months. Here's what I've learned, (it's very profound, I'm sure):

Do I miss working in an office (even though I didn't love my job)? YES

Did I miss my child every day I did work in an office? YES

Were parts of my office job boring? YES

Are parts of my days of staying home with my daughter boring? YES

Was it sometimes hard, challenging work in my office job? YES

Is it sometimes hard, challenging work taking care of my baby girl? YES

Did I enjoy teamwork and chatting with adults in the corporate world? YES

Do I enjoy chatting with my ever-chatty toddler? YES

Do I wish I still worked in an office? SOMETIMES

Am I oh-so-glad I don't work in an office? YES

Were there rewards that came with working outside the home? YES-productivity, time with adults, a salary, feeling like I contributed to the world at large and to a team, feeling like I contributed financially to my family and myself, creating solutions to problems, using my brain efficiently and effectively, etc.

Are there rewards to staying at home with my child? YES-seeing her smile, making her laugh, watching her learn, witnessing her amazing personality develop, being able to be a kid again, being able to get stuff done around the house (sometimes) during the day, getting to know other mom's and sharing the in's and out's of parenting a bit more deeply, getting to model for my daughter what I hope is a good woman/mother/wife, etc.

Would I like to go back to the corporate world? YES

Do I want to keep staying home with my child? YES

Did I feel like I was making a sacrifice to work outside the home? YES

Do I feel like I'm making a sacrifice to stay at home? YES
 
Do I clean, cook, do laundry, grocery shop, pick up pick up pick up, run errands, plan things, make lists of things to accomplish, budget, manage the home/family, try to do it all, etc. while staying at home? YES
(am I successful? SOMETIMES)

Did I clean, cook, do laundry, grocery shop, pick up pick up pick up, run errands, plan things, make lists of things to accomplish, budget, manage the home/family, try to do it all, etc. while I worked in the corporate world? YES
(was I successful? SOMETIMES)

Do I admire working moms? YES

Do I admire stay-at-home moms? YES

Is either job better, more successful, more prestigious, harder, more rewarding, more time consuming, easier, cooler, worth more? NO

Was I the best employee while I worked outside the home? SOMETIMES, but not always

Was I the best mommy every day I worked outside the home? NO, but I sure did try

Am I the best mommy every day I'm home? NO, but I sure am trying

Was I thankful for my job? YES

Am I thankful to have the opportunity to stay home? YES

Will I be thankful when my baby girl is in school and I start working full time again? YES

Will I be sad when my baby girl is in school and I don't stay home with her all day? YES

Will I ever have my sh@# together, whether staying home or working? NOPE

Does that matter? NOPE

And that pretty much sums it up. Ask anyone. ;)

We are women, hear us roar!