Friday, October 30, 2009

on being a SAHM...

i had a revelation while i was away on my mini-vaca with my sister and my mom. a lot of people who don't have children don't really realize what it takes to be a stay at home mom. my sister said as much to me while we were at her house and i was restraining my thrashing contortionist son. she really thought i had it made--that my life was perfect. i only had to work part time, and even though money's tight, i got to be at home all day with my two wonderful children and had time to create beautiful jewelry for my etsy shop. spending 2 days in her house disabused her of that illusion *smile*

i have 2 kids, and they couldn't be more different. but they're both a lot of work in their own way. isabelle is probably the most independent 2 year old you'll ever meet. and it's so frustrating cuz you have to help in a way that makes it seem like you're not helping even though letting her do it herself takes twice as long and you're already late...and alexander vacillates between wanting to do everything himself and not wanting to do anything himself. and you need to be able to know which day it is. and he's very high-energy. i don't want to label him as anything, but he needs a lot of directed activity, or he'll find a non-desirous activity to occupy himself *smile* and he's a master at breaking toys (and non-toys he just happens to be playing with *smile*), not becuz he's destructive, but becuz he wants to know how stuff works and why it moves or doesn't move. cheap plastic made in china just doesn't cut it for my son. he'll destroy it in a day. and not becuz he's malicious, but becuz he's so enthralled with it that he wants to know the entire parameters of it's ability. thank the Lord for tonka *smile*

so it was kinda gratifying to see my sister and open her eyes to my reality *smile*. i don't know what i would do if i weren't medicated. i'd either be in jail or western psych *smile*

2 comments:

  1. You know that joke..."Insanity runs in families. You get it from your kids.?" It's only funny because it's TRUE. At least those moms who have a full-time job have a shot at an undisturbed, peaceful lunch hour. SAHM's don't have that option. Even when the kids go to school, there's very little time to oneself. But, there is hope! Sometime, eventually, in hopefully the foreseeable future, they will move out! Until then, it's just roll with the tide and hope you surface with some sanity intact.

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  2. Oh boy did it open my eyes! It was a good experience for me. No more bon bon eating, TV watching, jewelry-making imaginings about your life. The kids are awesome, but they are like 4 fulltime jobs!!

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