A Tribute to SAHMs and My SAHM

FYI - I typed six different introductions to this blog entry before finally settling on this one... 

There was something Becca said to me this morning that made me further appreciate the fact that she is a stay-at-home-mom  ("SAHM") and my SAHM.

She asked me how I slept last night and then followed it up with "good, because if I'm waking up, you better be sleeping well since you have to go to work."

I have tremendous respect for stay-at-home-moms. And yes, working moms, you rock too. But think about this for a moment: generally speaking, how much harder are you going to work at raising your child compared to punching that time card from 8am til <insert end of work day hour>? While I don't get to take any naps in the office, I get breathers whenever I need. I can take a lunch break. I can go take a walk if I need some "me" time. I even get to visit the bathroom without worrying about where the baby needs to be.

But SAHMs? It's constant and never-ending. When you're a SAHM, you have at least two babies to take care of: 1) the adorable, breathing, pooping, peeing, eating, bundle of love... and 2) your house and all the crap in it. The only breaks in the action that she gets are the hour or two when I'm home after work before Viv's bedtime and whatever night(s) she can break away for girls night or book club.

She's been a SAHM for about five months and the five months have flown by. She's done an amazing job of raising Viv (healthy, growing and developing) and keeping our home life in more order than chaos. I probably don't do a good enough job of expressing my appreciation for the days when she's able to manage herself and all the various chores around the house. I know she has her good days and bad days (usually driven by Viv's napping schedule) but I can't imagine what life would be like if it wasn't this way. I have so much confidence and comfort knowing that the one person, the best person, to be raising our daughter is at home with her almost 24-7.

So cheers to my SAHM and any other SAHM who are reading this. Your work began when your baby was born and your work will inevitably never end. It's one of the most stressful jobs, but also one of the most important and fulfilling jobs. To the working moms who are reading this, cheers to you as well, for providing for your family financially in addition to all the time and energy that you need to put in at home.