Ode To The Stay at Home Mom

I once heard Oprah herself declare, that she felt that stay-at-home mothers have the most difficult job in the world. And you know what? I would have to agree with her after living the "stay-at-home dream". Yes, I said the "stay-at-home dream", because there was once a time that I would fantasize what it would be like to not have to deal with the rat race of work, getting dressed up, conducting appointments, being productive, and following corporate America's rule book. Yep, being a stay-at-home mom was where it was at.

What the hell was I thinking? Now, don't get me wrong it is not all bad. The feeling of being stuck comes and goes for the us who decide to dedicate a portion of our life to concentrating fully on the needs of our families. One nice aspect about being a stay-at home mom is that it can be a bit of a power trip. You basically decide what is eaten, what is worn, what is said, and what goes on from the bathroom to the mudroom. But then, without a paycheck to validate our work, or camaraderie shared with coworkers, us stay-at-home moms can feel equally powerless.

We are so caught up in the needs of others, it feels as if us stay-at-home moms are in a state of free fall. Some of the signs include, but are not limited to:

1. Wearing the same outfit for weeks on end (washing it of course). It requires little thought when having to get ready in the morning.
2. A vague feeling of having forgotten something.
3. An inability to hold an intelligent conversation around current world events.
4. The habit of talking too loudly or overlapping sentences like a child.
5. An occasional short temper, that may be accompanied by tears.

Let it be known to the critics and cynics, being a stay-at-home mom is intense and involved. Some of our greatest challenges are making our days as interesting as possible for us as well as our children. Time seems to be stretched out, and strangely compressed at the same time. An author once phrased it as "Stillness at warp speed".

Yes, there are days I envy women that get up, get dressed, report to the respite of a cool office, who "lunch" with clients, or anyone who can speak in full sentences for that matter. But the next time someone is compelled to ask, "And what do you do?". How do you tell someone that you do many things in a very detailed way? How do you say "stay-at-home mom" without feeling like you have to justify it as a "real" job?