Stay At Home Mom - Part One

The number one question I get when I communicate with someone who does not live here, revolves around me being a stay at home mom. The questions come in the forms of “How is being a stay at home mom?”, “Do you still enjoying staying home with Jaxen?”, “Do you miss working?” “Aren’t you so glad you can stay home now?” …and so on.

So my goal is to answer those questions in a two-part blog post. Because it is not an easy question to answer. When someone asks, I normally answer with “Yes, I love staying home. It is great. I’m so thankful.” Which is all SO TRUE.

However / But (don’t you just love those words?) -

I miss working. I have always enjoyed having a job. I miss learning new skills, I miss the stress of a busy work day, I miss the feeling of accomplishment when I do something great or unexpected. Working (for the most part) has always been fun, and a big part of my life.

I miss my work-family. Those of you who have a “work family” know exactly what I’m talking about. They are your people. They know the good and bad sides of you, they take care of you when you are sick, they make you laugh if you are having a bad day, you eat lunch with them, take breaks and chat, when they are on vacation - you miss them… that kind of "work family". I don’t have that anymore and I have been so blessed to have the best “work families” at my last two jobs (12 years total). I miss that.

I miss the income. Granted, I never made a ton of money and it’s not like the income I would make would put us in a complete different kind of living-category. But it was still extra income. And it was nice to have. We do have to sacrifice a little more now that I am staying at home. However - God has been so gracious and good to us. We have more than we need and have been able to live within our means. We always give a portion back to God of what He has given us. Always. And always first. And I truly believe that because we trust Him with our money - He provides!

I miss the break. I miss the drive to and from work, all by myself. I miss leaving my house (and sometimes issues from the home) for different scenery a few hours each day. It’s a different pace, different people, and sometimes just a nice break!

Please know I don’t say any of the above with ill-will. I’m just trying to be open and honest and share things I miss about not working. Nik and I even had a discussion a few weeks ago about whether or not I wanted to go back to work (the answer was not at this time).

And I also am fully aware that our situation could change and the need for me to go back to work may happen. And I will look back at the things I have missed and pray that God will give me a wonderfully-fulfilling job again!

Part two coming…what I love about being a stay at home mom!