Who Knew? Life as a Stay-at-Home Mom

It is a beautiful, breezy, 75° Labor Day morning here in Kansas. I absolutely love days like today. Not too hot, sunny, and the hubs is home. Perfection.

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been a stay at home mom for more than a year now and I love every – ok, well almost every – minute of it. Before I got pregnant I always thought I would return to work after having a baby. That’s what my mom did; that’s what her mom did. And I loved work. I’ve always worked with kids in one capacity or other – swim coach, Boys & Girls Club, as a para with special needs kids – so all I could think was that I would be so bored if I became a stay-at-home-parent. This thought made sense because when I did have a day off or a couple hours to do whatever I wanted, I would sit and watch Netflix or something and get bored so quickly. I’d have to leave the apartment and go to the store or paint or write. Something so I would feel like I was being productive.

I went back and forth with myself all through my pregnancy on what I wanted to do. Once I found out all I could think was, how can I go to work and spend all day with someone else’s kids when I could be at home with mine – experiencing all of her firsts, seeing her learn and grow. I am so grateful that BJ was supportive of whatever decision I made. His mom was a stay-at-home parent and knew how much she enjoyed being there for him and his siblings. He also knew that I would love being there for ours in the same way.

I finally made my decision to stay home when I was about 7 months pregnant. I was working as a para in an elementary school at the time and it was the end of the school year and a decision needed to be made. I can honestly say that once I made that decision I knew it was the right one. There was going to be no turning back for me. I spent all summer thinking about everything that I could do at home. All the things I could do with our little girl once she was here.

What I didn’t realize was how much I could do for myself. I have discovered I have a passion for research when it comes to things that would be beneficial to my family. I spent hours on Pinterest after Roly Poly was born looking for activities I could do with her and things I could make for her. Then there was the cloth diaper research so we could use something more natural and spend less money. Currently it’s essential oils and how we can use those instead of immediately turning to OTC drugs.

Unlike my initial view of stay-at-home parents, I rarely have time to just sit and do nothing. And when I do, I enjoy the heck out of it. I get a moment to refocus. A moment to reset. I love being a stay-at-home parent. I love watching my little girl take each new step (literally and metaphorically). I love that she’s beginning to really communicate with me. And I love being here when BJ gets home from work, sometimes having dinner ready for him (though that doesn’t happen very often – toddler and all). I may go back to work one day but for the foreseeable future I am a very happy, fulfilled stay-at-home mom.