Staying sane while staying home...

It is no easy task. I am constantly asked by people (most often men) we know how I am liking staying at home. They ask me with this genuine and hopeful look on their face expecting a blissful answer about how wonderful it is to be home all day every day. And, most times, I give these people the answer they want.

“Oh, I am loving it. It is so good to have more time to spend with the girls!”

But, what I am thinking is:

“Oh, it depends on the day or (more specifically the minute of the day) that you ask me. On days when I get everyone up, dressed and out the door for some sort of activity before 10am and no one hits, bites, screams at or maims the other, has no unfortunately timed dirty diaper or urgent trip to the potty that leaves me navigating the world’s most disgusting public restroom while yelling “stop touching that and do NOT lick anything!”, steps in dog poop at the park and drags it all over the already messy van exclaiming innocently that she has got mud EVERYWHERE then yes I enjoy it. However, on the days when one (or more often all) of the above happen I do not love it so much and I think perhaps they would be better off in the care of strangers all day.

Being a mom is much like any other job. There are days when you love your job and can’t imagine doing anything else. And there are days when you spend every free minute searching every single job category on Monster.com. The only difference is that when you spend the day scouring the job market you end up feeling exceedingly guilty for not being one of those women who blissfully goes through the day covered in baby throw-up and finger paint and never regrets a moment of it.