SAHMs

The discussion that stood out the most to me this week was Friday's discussion regarding work and the home.  This was especially poignant to me because I recently read Dr. Laura's In Praise of Stay at Home Moms.  I have always known that I should be and should want to be a stay at home mom.  In truth, that is exactly what I want.  However, I am definitely one for gaining the greatest education that I can.  Perhaps I am not being modest in saying so, but I believe that God has blessed me with some intense brains.  I have always wanted to use them and used to be at a loss as to how I could both have a career and be a stay at home mom.  Over the years, I have seen a solution and Dr. Laura's book gave me some great gold nuggets of information and support.  I need to gain the greatest education I can for my children.  They will have the smartest mom on the block.  I will be an intelligent member and participator in society and try to pass it on to my children.  When they are gone and living their own lives, then perhaps a career is a good path to take.  But I will certainly not miss my children and their growing years, if I have the choice.

Dr. Laura's book gave some great advice, but for me it gave me even greater support.  Like I said, I made the decision long ago to be a SAHM (stay at home mom, as she calls them) and nothing will change that.  But in this world today there are so many nay-sayers.  So many men, women, and media telling me "No! Have a career!  Put the kids in daycare!"  They try to tell me that I will be a slave to my husband and children.  They try to tell me that I will be unfulfilled, not reaching my full potential.  And what hurts the most is that they will look at me with disdain and pity, thinking that I am some ignorant traditionalist who doesn't know what she's doing.  But Dr. Laura says to heck with the nay-sayers.  They are the ones who are missing out.  They tell you you're doing it wrong but they know deep down inside that they are doing it wrong, so says Dr. Laura.  Nothing will replace the fulfillment of seeing your babies' first everything, your babies' plays, your babies' achievements.  A career can wait.  A child cannot.  I want to be a SAHM.