I am forever poised and ready to answer the age old question - "You're a stay-at-home-mum? What do you do all day?!" Plenty of people think that being a stay-at-home-mum is like being on a permanent holiday and I know it has its perks but it's no picnic (although there are some actual picnics).
When you work you have your hours 9-5 or whatever they may be, you have a lunch break and when you finish at 5pm you get to go home and turn off from whatever your job is until 9 the next morning.
We S-A-H-M's on the other hand do not have that luxury.
Yes we see friends for coffee and take the kids to the park but let me tell you without another adult to speak to I would go insane and without the kids running around the park to let off steam I would go insane - can you see the pattern here? Lunch isn't about going to the cafe down the road from the office with work friends but instead consists of battling to get The Toddler to eat the thing he asked me for 10 minutes before and The Baby needing a bottle or my attention in some way at the same time. Even if they have a nap there is no break for you no, no,no - you need that time to hang the washing out and sterilise the bleeding bottles!
My 'hours' are never ending. My work life is my home life, it follows me around - literally!
I have to be parent, cook, cleaner, teacher, waitress, referee, general dogsbody, nurse, comforter, shopper, motivator, coach, taxi and so much more all in one.
When telling The Man that I needed a break from the kids his answer was "well when they go to bed you'll have a break then won't you?" (I think this was meant to be a joke - man jokes aren't funny) This is like telling a 9-5 worker that they don't need a holiday ever because between the hours of 5pm and 9am they're not at work.
Now don't get me wrong I chose not to work and I do feel fortunate that I'm able to be at home but sometimes it just becomes very monotonous, I start to feel like Cinderella cooking and cleaning for everyone every day and recently I feel like I'm getting a bit lost in mum world. I guess that was a big reason for me to start blogging - to have something for me.
I can see the appeal of being a working mum, having real adults to talk to without having to interrupt your conversation to give The Toddler raisins and having topics other than how much they slept or the consistency of their poo to think about. And I imagine when working mums do have a day with their kids then those days are all the more special. My days don't always feel that special, I sometimes need a chance to miss them you know?
They say it takes a village to bring up a child and my very own village consists of brilliant friends to keep me grounded some are mums some are not (yet - haha just wait!) a great family and a wonderful man that keeps me going, but even so you sometimes feel alone. Don't suffer in silence, call a friend, go for a walk to clear your head and if all else fails there is always gin.
On the whole it's unrelenting bloody hard work. But would I change it? Nope.
Speak soon x
When you work you have your hours 9-5 or whatever they may be, you have a lunch break and when you finish at 5pm you get to go home and turn off from whatever your job is until 9 the next morning.
We S-A-H-M's on the other hand do not have that luxury.
Yes we see friends for coffee and take the kids to the park but let me tell you without another adult to speak to I would go insane and without the kids running around the park to let off steam I would go insane - can you see the pattern here? Lunch isn't about going to the cafe down the road from the office with work friends but instead consists of battling to get The Toddler to eat the thing he asked me for 10 minutes before and The Baby needing a bottle or my attention in some way at the same time. Even if they have a nap there is no break for you no, no,no - you need that time to hang the washing out and sterilise the bleeding bottles!
My 'hours' are never ending. My work life is my home life, it follows me around - literally!
I have to be parent, cook, cleaner, teacher, waitress, referee, general dogsbody, nurse, comforter, shopper, motivator, coach, taxi and so much more all in one.
When telling The Man that I needed a break from the kids his answer was "well when they go to bed you'll have a break then won't you?" (I think this was meant to be a joke - man jokes aren't funny) This is like telling a 9-5 worker that they don't need a holiday ever because between the hours of 5pm and 9am they're not at work.
Now don't get me wrong I chose not to work and I do feel fortunate that I'm able to be at home but sometimes it just becomes very monotonous, I start to feel like Cinderella cooking and cleaning for everyone every day and recently I feel like I'm getting a bit lost in mum world. I guess that was a big reason for me to start blogging - to have something for me.
I can see the appeal of being a working mum, having real adults to talk to without having to interrupt your conversation to give The Toddler raisins and having topics other than how much they slept or the consistency of their poo to think about. And I imagine when working mums do have a day with their kids then those days are all the more special. My days don't always feel that special, I sometimes need a chance to miss them you know?
They say it takes a village to bring up a child and my very own village consists of brilliant friends to keep me grounded some are mums some are not (yet - haha just wait!) a great family and a wonderful man that keeps me going, but even so you sometimes feel alone. Don't suffer in silence, call a friend, go for a walk to clear your head and if all else fails there is always gin.
On the whole it's unrelenting bloody hard work. But would I change it? Nope.
Speak soon x
In the same boat...kills me when people say "so you're just a stay at home mum?"JUST...JUST...you can take your 'just' and find a wonderful place to stick it!!! Hard but worth it. Love the special moments I'd miss if I was anywhere else. Very grateful to be able to say I'm a SAHM and proud to be x
ReplyDeleteI'm not a mum yet but i imagine I'd be a rubbish SAHM, I'd most certainly go insane. I guess this is the point, we're all different and all good at doing it in our own way. Whether it's being an expert SAHM or an expert at the mum/ work life balance. I have upmost respect for all mums whatever route they choose. I wonder if my view will change when I become a mummy?!!
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