I'm sure there are plenty of stories on here about stay at home moms, but I am new to Steem and no way do I have the ability to find them all. As this is community is all about giving your thoughts and sharing with your fellow Steemians, I wanted to drop my 2 cents into the hat too.
Appreciate Them
When my wife and I had our daughter almost 2 years ago, we pretty much knew that she would stay home. It just didn't make sense to have both of us working and having to pay basically half or more of one of our salaries to entrust our daughter's well being with a daycare. DISCLAIMER-Nothing against daycares-but who better to care for and nurture your children then the actual parent??? To me it just made sense, kept my wife's mind at ease and that's what was most important to me.
With that said, I want to say that now after 2 years of her staying at home, I have found a new appreciation for her. Let's face it, she spends most of her time at home with a baby that can't fully communicate with her like two adults having a conversation. Initially it took me some time to get used to because I would get text messages all day or she would talk my ear off when I got home from work. Now, I understand. She needs that because she spends the day running around after a now toddler, cleaning up after her, fixing dinner, doing laundry, planning birthdays, taking care of a sick baby, handling two pain in the ass dogs, paying bills, running to doctor appointments...you get the idea.
Working Crazy Hours Per Week-Bank Account Rollin' Like a Boss...NOPE!
Stay at homes moms bust their asses people. With as many hours they work, if this was a out in the "real world" job, 3 years ago they'd be rolling (at least where I live) but not the case for a mom. She does 10000 things a day and no money. She gets peed on, pooped on, vomitted on, deals with sick kids, picks up messes, and has time to say, "hi honey, how was your day?" all in 8-10 hours while I'm gone. Even when I get home, she is still doing stuff for our household. I've learned to help out and clean the bathroom, take out the trash, bathe our daughter and run the vaccuum throughout the house (we have a split level so tons of steps) and I still feel that isn't enough on my part. Sometimes I come home and want to do nothing, but then I think to myself, "what kind of break has she had today?"...so I push on because I need to and should. My wife expects NOTHING in return really; maybe a foot rub every once in a while, or a back rub and she goes to get smelly goods at Bath and Body Works.
Love Her Unconditionally and Respect Her...Otherwise You'll Lose it All!
As stated above, I truly do appreciate what my wife does being at home all day. I love her more and more daily. I know that it cannot be easy and the sacrifice she has made to forego being around adults all day can be a daunting one. I see her more tired, our time at night is usually short because she needs to sleep to be awake for the next day and at some point, everything nearly cost me my marriage because I didn't follow what I have stated all along...
My wife about a year ago came to me and said she felt unappreciated, that I didn't care for her the slightest. She felt like a live in maid/roommate to me and not that she was my wife anymore. At the time, work was crazy busy (not an excuse) and I strayed away...no I didn't cheat, but I lost sight of my love. I came home, sat in front of a computer and did more work most nights and put her on the farthest back burner imaginable. Without even sensing it, I was losing my best friend, love of my life and the chance to see my daughter every single day because I was selfish and took things for granted. I was given an ultimatium---step up, help out and be the man she knew I could be, or move out, be ready for divorce and shared custody.
I have worked hard to NEVER lose site of her. To make sure she is loved and appreciated. To write notes. Call at lunch. Run a bath for her. Send flowers on a Tuesday just because. Simple things. Simple things that mean the world to my wife and let her know I love her and I get it. I get that even though she stays at home, she is still my wife and wants to be treated as such and a few signs of appreciation is all she asks in return for going to work daily to raise our daughter.
To everyone out there, please NEVER be like me and show the love that any stay at home mom or parent for that matter, deserves. Trust me, if you don't, they will let you know and you might not be as blessed as I am. To all the stay at home people in the world, Thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart for all you do daily. I know now what you go through and have nothing but love for you all.
