“If all you did was feed your child fruit loops and sit on the couch to read with him, that’s equally as great. Odds are that 20 years from now they probably won’t remember half of the academic lessons you taught them, but they will remember the time they got to spend with you.”
‘Stop comparing yourself to Susan who completed 28 crafts with her 6-year-old. They won’t remember the lessons, but they’ll remember the time they got to spend with you.’: Homeschool mom says ‘you were your child’s first teacher, you can do this’
‘Her body hit the floor. ‘If you want to say goodbye to your daughter, you’d better come now.’ She’d only had a bad cold the day before.’: Mom dies suddenly of congenital cardiac arrythmia, leaves behind 3 toddlers
“Brittany called to say she had a bad cold. I told her to get some rest. We said ‘I love you’ and I told her the twins were doing fine. At 8:30 a.m. we received a call from her husband. ‘It’s Britt! They’re lifeflighting her.’ At the hospital, she was just lying there, the ventilator breathing for her. ‘Please come back to us. Your babies need you.’ I held her hand. They checked her system for diet pills.”
‘I have a live-in nanny and I’m a SAHM. People enjoy bashing that. I can be in bed by 8′: Stay-at-home mom of autistic child says, ‘I have MS but MS does not have me’
“I can look drunk. I may walk into a grocery store and barely stumble out. I was even accused of thinking I was ‘better than everyone else’ or I ‘don’t have children’ because of what I do for my husband. I choose to stay positive.”
‘Laura can do it, she’s home every day.’ I was told how hard my husband must have it. They didn’t tell me about the frustrations, the anger.’: Mom tells other stay-at-home moms ‘you are not alone’
“When I had my son, people were asking me, ‘When do you plan to go back to work?’ When I told them I had no plans to immediately go back, I would constantly be told how lucky I am. Then when I had my daughter, I was asked again. I was told I should be so appreciative.”
‘I miss punching out. I miss the thank you’s and ‘you’re doing a great job.’ I miss not having to awkwardly stumble through, ‘What do you do?’: Stay-at-home mom shares candid reality of ‘high stakes’ motherhood
“This work leaks into every part of my life. There’s not a minute that’s safe. It calls in the middle of the night, during hair appointments, and workouts. Vacation doesn’t exist. I miss getting ready. I miss the compliments on my outfit and hair. The hot coffee, and people who got my jokes. When my brain operated well enough to form them. But I know the one thing I’d always miss more than work, are my children.”
‘You get to sit home all day, what do you have to cry about?’ We get told we’re ‘lazy.’ That it’s not ‘real work’ so we have nothing to complain about.’: Mom urges ‘check in on your SAHM friends, we are NOT okay’
“You smell like sweat and tears for days at a time. You don’t get breaks. You lock yourself in the bathroom and scream into a towel while crying because you need a second to breathe, all while a child is banging on the door to get in. You forget what it means or feels like to be an individual. I was one of those people who judged SAHM’s. But I get it now. We are lonely and alone.”
‘People always tell me how lucky I am to be a stay-at-home mom. All I can think is, ‘Then why do I feel so f*cking lonely all the time?’: Woman shares candid reality of being a stay-at-home parent
“When I gave birth to my daughter at 19, people always asked, ‘When do you plan to go back to work?’ When I said I planned to be a stay-at-home mom, they’d always say how appreciative I should be. Nobody tells you how draining being stuck in the same routine, everyday, is. The same pile of dishes, the same pile of laundry, the same toys lying all over the floor. No matter how many hours are in a day, you still won’t feel like you’ve done enough.”
‘I don’t want a tribe because tribes have leaders. There I said it.’: Mom explains why she’d rather have ‘damn good friends’ than a ‘tribe’
“I might be the only female millennial in her 30s not presently seeking a tribe. I’m a stay-at-home mother of 3 who isn’t in search of living her best life with her best pals ready to drape her in overgenerous compliments and praise. And I sure as hell don’t want to be a leader to anyone except for my kids.”
‘My husband and I married. ‘I’m going to be a stay-at-home mom,’ I declared. With little push-back from him, out popped 2 children.’: SAHM’s candid feelings on feeling ‘horribly unseen’
“I proceeded with my plan to be Susie Homemaker meets Carol Brady. But no one was around to witness it. I was with another human all day, but felt horribly unseen. I was over-touched, but not talked to enough. I’d been constantly moving, but never really exercised my mind. I often found myself staring at the clock, willing the magical sound of the garage door to arrive.”
‘Your to-do list is ambitious, but someone else needs you more. When those little eyes fill with tears, the dishes will always wait.’: Mom pens letter ‘to the parents who can’t get it all done’
“I bet you woke up with a list of things you needed to do today. I did, too. You had appointments to schedule, bills to pay, and yes, the bathrooms will get done today! But then a little hand reached for yours. Your breath caught in your throat as she looked straight back at you. Mine did, too. She is the best thing you’ve ever seen.”
