I have many different mom friends, moms who work, moms who stay home, and moms who work while staying home.
Some moms wish they were at work instead of being home with the kids (or singular kid). Some moms wished the necessity of work didn’t exist to stay home with their children or child. With the wide range of mom friends I have, I’m always quick to compare.
At this point in my four years of motherhood, I’ve been an ambitious working mom turned to stay at home mom turned work from home mom. So I should have all the answers now. I mean, four years! That’s a resume. After watching and analyzing others, I’m still not any closer to discovering what is universally BEST.
My working mom friends have entirely different struggles than where I’m at currently. If you’ve never stayed home with kids, you may think you aren’t missing anything, but you may also have anxiety over what you ARE missing.
My stay-at-home mom friends who are anxious to get back to corporate America are grasping at the opportunity to speak to adults during the day, to use their brains, to be and watch their creativity come to life. Yes! I miss this.
I’ve also discovered stay-at-home moms who, it’s a secret, enjoy staying home. Some moms actually enjoy playdates, caring for and managing their homes, making dinner, meal planning, grocery shopping, volunteering, and getting on the floor to play with their kids. Yuck! Right? How is it that I do enjoy this?
Of course, I believe my way is right, and so should you because the paradox of it all is that we are all similar and yet all individually different. I’m going to keep trying what works for me and find out what doesn’t. I’m going to make my mistakes, and then I’m going to learn from them while also watching your mistakes and wins to understand and implement.
Moms. We’re moms. It looks different in every home, and that’s just fine. Are you happy? Are you comfortable? Are your kids loved? I can’t imagine the answer is anything other than yes, regardless of your status. If that’s the case, keep doing you, and I’ll keep doing me.
The conclusion is simple. What is best for my kids is that they are loved. Regardless if you believe in quality time or quantity of time, the point is time. Love those babies like there’s no tomorrow, and then the question becomes irrelevant.
