Like every good book, let me begin with a preface.
(1) I love my children. Madly. (2) I have chosen – of my own free will – to be home with my kiddos. SAHM is an acronym for which I am both fortunate and grateful. (3) The good days supersede the bad. (4) My husband is a rockstar teammate. Rockstar. (5) Our village is inhabited by ridiculously awesome people. (6) Life is good. It really, really is.
[End preface]
OK, now it’s time to be really frank. Frankly, it’s time to be real.
Staying home with kids is H-A-R-D. There are days – and many moments during those days – I feel like quitting my job. Or perhaps I deserve to be fired. Either way, I’d give anything to crawl into my hubby’s pocket as he walks out the door in the morning. Instead, my Tuesday looks like my Saturday looks like my Wednesday looks like my every… single… day.
“You have the hardest job on the planet,” I’m often told. I am not so sure about that (Navy Seals or ER doctors or public school teachers have my vote). But for the sake of this rant… you’re darn skippy it’s the hardest job on Earth!!!
We clock-in at birth and clock-out… never. Meltdowns and messes and mommy guilt! Oh my! I won’t delve further into the nitpicky details of why it’s so difficult. It just IS. All the while, I’m fully aware I dare not blink or my babies will be all grown up. “The days are long, but the years are short.” I hear you loud and clear, but – holy smokes – can those long days feel painstakingly loooooong. “Raising tiny humans is exhausting” may or may not be inscribed on my wine glass.
Please understand I’m not looking for an RSVP to my pity party or sympathy (or judgment) for my venting. I’m simply allowing myself a mommy temper tantrum… and kinda hoping it results in a mommy timeout. One minute per year of your age = 37 glorious minutes!!
Really, I just want my fellow stressed-out, dog-tired, and cuckoo-crazy SAHM or SAHD to rest (haha, I said rest) assured we are in this together. You are not alone. You (and I) are the world to those tiny humans – a responsibility requiring warrior strength. May God grant us the perfect amount of wisdom, love, and sanity to perceive the sippy cup as half-full – and patience when it spills.