It wasn't until Oliver was nine months old and I had to go back to work that I started to realize why many moms dream of being a SAHM.
My own mama was very lucky in that she got to stay home with all eight of her kids.
Nowadays women have tons of options and aren't expected to stay home and be a homemaker. Heck, the number of women who don't end up going back to work shortly after the birth of their children, much less the number of those who get to stay home and raise their children throughout their childhood, feels very very small. Part of this is probably due to a double income being almost a requirement for an average family to get ahead. That's the reasoning behind my return to work, and lots of other moms I've talked to.
Making a home sounds absolutely phenomenal. Seeing my boys all day means that they're filling my day with smiles and sunshine. There's also a lot of infighting and roughhousing because they are siblings and they are boys, but it's a net positive day. Once in a while we get out of the house as a group, and they're to the point where it's genuinely fun to take them out. I love catching up on laundry and dishes. I love the pleased look on Eric's face when he comes home to a clean house. I love the feeling of "yeah, I can DO things for fun now!" that comes with a clean house. There's a feeling of satisfaction that I haven't found anywhere else.
Eric says maybe in the future. What we need is to pay all of our bills (including the quarterly bills) with ease, have money leftover for groceries, and money to eat out once or twice per month and get a game/Minecraft toys/Twozies/Paw Patrol figure with the same frequency. Right now the taxes where we live are quite high, hence the push to move. We've looked at a few houses and fallen in love with one, but plans fell through and we are waiting to meet Mr. Right House in the spring.
I dearly hope I can stay home and homemake soon. I'm waiting to hear back on my start date at Big Box Store, so feeling a little melencholy this week. Treasuring my time with the boys even moreso than usual. If we ever decide to expand our family (yeah, those hormones are a'ragin') I'd absolutely want to stay home and treasure that tiny baby. I want to enjoy the boys when they are little and be there as much as I can. I'm thankful for the times I have had with them!
SAHMs, be thankful! I hope to join you one day. :)