SAHM

I am a stay at home mom. It is hard. Sometimes I love it but sometimes...well...I HATE it with the fire of a thousand suns! I realize that this is a choice and that Chris puts us in a fortunate financial situation so that I can do this. Regardless, sometimes it is really, really difficult, lonely and frustrating. Today, I let one child ride on the others back while hitting him in the head with a matchbox car just so they would leave me alone for ONE DAMN MINUTE!!  

That being said, I am about to make a bold and polarizing statement: I cannot fathom how someone survives as a working parent or a single parent. I absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt would be a miserable person if I were either. I vaguely remember how tired I was driving home from work when I worked a full time job before I had Connor. I cannot imagine a day spent dealing with the stress and irritations that come with a full time job then coming home to grouchy, tired children who still have to be cared for no matter how much you want to collapse on the couch.

It is true when they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Chris has been out of town for less than 24 hours and I am completely exhausted and irritable. Not only I am missing Chris my husband but I am missing Chris my co-parent! No matter what happens during my day I know that he will be home at some point to help. Some days knowing that he will be there to relieve me is the only thing that keeps me from locking myself in my closet. Both of my sisters were single mothers – Kelli only briefly but Lea Ann has been for 20 years. You deserve medals. Truly. And working parents, God bless you. Bonus points if your children know what any of the appliances in the kitchen are for besides the microwave. If I were a working mom my children would survive on chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches alone. Oh wait...they do anyway. Crap.

My hat's off to you.