That’s “Stay at Home Mom” for those not down with the lingo. When I was a kid, I never dreamed I’d be a SAHM. I wasn’t into babies. I did babysit some, but it was usually older kids, who could, y’know, go to the bathroom by themselves. I’ve always been more interested in a career.
In college and graduate school I continued to waffle on whether I’d ever want kids. I thought it would be nice if I could just have them arrive at about the age of 5; that’s when I figured the fun part started.
I started to change my mind after my nieces were born, and I realized that babies could be interesting as well, and when I would babysit them, I realized maybe I could do the baby part after all. When Chris proposed, I told him I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids or not, and if it was a dealbreaker, I’d understand. It wasn’t until after we were married that I made up my mind for sure that I wanted kids.
I haven’t worked full-time for almost 2 years. I quit my last job in February of 2007, partly because it was time to move on, and partly to see if that would help me get pregnant. I got pregnant in July, and did some part-time consulting from October to March.
Right now, I don’t miss working. I’m still not sure how long it will be before I go back to work, and what it is I’ll do when I go back. I’m sure I will at some point; I don’t see myself being a SAHM for the next 18 years. If I’m lucky, I’ll find some part-time work.
Sometimes I do wish for a change in routine. Some days it seems like all I do is prepare food, feed Jack, do laundry, tidy the house, plan the meals, do dishes.. it would be nice to use my brain for something a little more challenging. But right now, this is what I want. I love being able to see Jack every day, to see how he changes, to lie on the floor and laugh and read books with him. I’m very lucky to have that option.
I had a very satisfying career for 12 years, and I will have one again.
