by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I've been dealing with some mental/emotional issues with my decision to stay at home, so thought I might give the book a look-through and see what it had to say. I am so glad I bought it!As a working mother with two college degrees, I have had a range of reactions to my decision to leave work. Some have supported my decision and said "That's great!" Others have been more negative and implied that I was going to lose my skills/intelligence/usefulness by leaving my job. Granted, the naysayers are fewer in number than the encouragers, but it can be hard to deal with when they are people you respect (or thought you respected).
This book was totally helpful to me in that it a) helped to validate my decision to stay home and b) offered wisdom on dealing with the changes that will occur and the various emotions that will come as I change my perspective. I also agree with Dr. Laura's assessment that colleges train women to think that their best contribution to the world should come from being 'career women.'
I went back to work after Joseph was born because I felt like I 'had to' for financial/benefits reasons, and, honestly, because I felt like I 'needed to' in order to prove that I could do both (since I'm so 'educated'). As a result, I've had more struggles with trying not to cry as I leave my son every morning--although thankfully I have had the privilege of having my sister, a very loving auntie, watching him instead of an institution--than I ever have had with leaving work at the end of the day. My entire life has changed, and I no longer want to put my energy into primarily supporting work instead of my family.
Don't get me wrong - I love my job, have a great boss and co-workers, and feel very blessed to have been able to earn income doing something I like for 4+ years. I know many other people would trade places with me in a heartbeat. However, my son is more important, and there is no one else in the world (not even my mom or sister or mother-in-law) who can be his MOM!
Here's to all the stay-at-home moms out there - HIP, HIP, HOORAY! I look forward to joining you soon.
I'm so happy for you. It's sometimes hard being an "educated" stay at home mom. I sometimes feel that my brain has turned to mush after too much PBS children's programming. But I believe my kids are happy having me home and knowing that I am always there. Like you, my kids are WAY more important than a career and all the financial stuff that comes with it. It took being layed off for me to fully appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the SAHM community! You're going to love it and be great at it! :-)