Interviewee: Me (Question #5)

Noodle asks: What is the best part of your stay at home mom experiences?

I’ve been pondering this one for a few days.  I can’t really come up with one single thing, so here’s a list (in no particular order) of my favorite aspects of being a SAHM.

1. Priorities and Values.  Being home with my kids means that the person whose values they are most often exposed to is me.  I not only get to teach them about what is right and what is wrong, I get to show them in the choices that I make each day.  (I try not to mess up too often!)
2. Understanding.  I spend more time with my kids, so I have a better understanding of who they are and how their minds work than most other people in their lives.
3. Flexibility.  It doesn’t matter if my child unexpectedly falls ill and has to stay home from school.  I can adjust my schedule and activities accordingly, with little effort. If I didn’t sleep well the night before, I can take a little nap to refresh and recharge.  Rearranging plans doesn’t cause me stress or anxiety the way it once did.
4. Convenience.  I don’t have to shop at Wal Mart (or anywhere else) on the weekends when it is insanely busy and crowded.  Hallelujah!
5. Responsibility.  My children get to see me taking care of everyday business, caring for them, their father, and our home.  They know that dirty clothes don’t magically wash themselves.  They know what it takes to plan and prepare a meal.  They willingly help out with their own chores, which expand as they get older.
6. Teaching.  Getting to teach my children about things that they may or may not have heard about already in school.  There is nothing quite as satisfying as feeding their natural hunger to learn, seeing them excited when they’ve made a new discovery.
7. Unlimited Access.  True, there are days when I feel like I will scream if I don’t get a half hour of peace and quiet.  But the flip side is that having kids at home means I can look at them, hug them, and tell them I love them as much and as often as I want.  I can laugh at their silly jokes, muss up their hair, pat them on the back.  I don’t have to wait until the end of a long workday when I’m distracted by other demands on my time.

Now that both of my kids are in school all day, I could get a job.  But I don’t want to.  This is the good life, even if it does mean struggling to live on one income.