I've had a child home with me, 24 hours a day, for eleven years straight. Sometimes, it was only one child. For years, it was three. That was both a fun and painful time in my life as a Mom. I was exhausted, run down, and sometimes bored.
But I wouldn't change a thing.
It is a totally amazing thing to be witness to your child learning. I love the fact that I taught all my children their numbers, their letters, their phonics then how to read. It is truly a miracle.
My days are different now.
All of them, all SIX of them, are in school. Even Little Miss S is in full time Kindergarden. The house is quiet. Very, very, eerily, wonderfully quiet. It was odd at first. Now after two months, I love it. I mean I love-love it. There is no crazy pulling of family and work now. During school hours I can work on Mothers Fighting For Others, and when 2:00 hits, I shut down the computer, and focus on homework with the kids.From 2:00 to 9:00 it's all about family.
It's made my life guilt free.
I can work on work during work hours, and I can play, do homework, do MOM things during "peak" hours, guilt free. That's new for me. I was always pulled the other direction. I think it's bullshit when Mom's talk about how they have balance. There is no balance. Unless you're talking a 90-10 balance. In my experience, when I was succesful at being Mom, work slacked. If I was a rockstar at work, I was ignoring my children. And that's just wrong.
Right now, I'm thankful I can do both.
For any SAHMs out there who are trying to do both... give yourself a break. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. We can't do it all at 100% Just do your best, given the time you have. When you are with your kids, don't worry about the paperwork. If you are paying bills, or on the phone with a client, try not to scream at your kids, because you only feel like shit afterwards.
Then again, this is just my opinion, my life, my experiences. You can take it or leave it.
Good Luck!
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