I just spent a five-day weekend with my kids. The reaction to this statement is usually either, “Fun!” or “I’m so sorry.” To both of these sentiments I say, “Yes. Thank you.” During that time together, we did some fun things like sledding and roller-skating, but everyone cheered when the bus came rolling down the street this morning.
The loooong weekend with my kids brought back many memories of my days as a stay-at-home mom. In many ways, I miss that time. I miss knowing what my kids were up to most of the time, I miss being able to run to the grocery store at any point in the day and I miss being able to Facetime with Grandma whenever we felt like it.
I had no idea how much time would be spent begging small people to put on shoes or eat one more bite.
On the other hand, five days at home with my children was a not-so-gentle reminder of the long, unglamorous days of my former life.
Before having kids, and for the first year of my son’s life, I wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom in the worst way. I imagined long lunches with girlfriends, comfortable clothing and leisurely naps. So many naps. Outside of the financial ramifications, I did not anticipate any downside to leaving the workforce and focusing on the hard work of raising kids.
About Those Long Lunches…
I didn’t realize they would happen at home—or that most of the time would be spent picking chunks of chicken nuggets and smashed peas off the floor.
And lunches with friends? My friends were all at work. And the new friends I met had babies, too. Who wants to go out to eat with a bunch of babies? Or worse, toddlers?
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