My little sister has seen me at my very worst, because, well… I tend to show up at her doorstep at my very worst.
Like a few weeks ago when I showed up with disgusting children, mascara tears streaming down my face, and begged her for a wee bit of shampoo so that I could wash my hair without taking all three gangsters into the store – which given my state, would've been a complete disaster.
Or last week when I just really needed to get said gangsters out of the house for a few minutes before I completely lost my mind, so I showed up at her house with chai teas and weepy eyes once again.
Nephew Jude
There's this thing about sisters, isn't there? You can open up, share, and even vent without fear. And so we do.
We talk about the struggles of marriage, motherhood, and the Christian life. We talk about new recipes we're enjoying. We talk about our favorite new curling irons. We share bits of our life with each other – even the bad bits.
So when my little sister started crying a few days ago at the thought of going back to work after her maternity leave, my heart wept with her. And when she said the she thought it would be a good thing because she wasn't super good at the ‘stay at home Mom thing', my heart wept all the more.
Not because I think everyone needs to be a stay at home Mom.
But because, the reality is, none of us are good at it.
Trust me, there are days (I swear!) I would pay someone just so I could work at my old job. There are days when I want to escape and pretend like, surely, this isn't reality.
Surely, my kitchen can't (literally) be messy all the time when I (literally) never stop doing dishes.
Surely, my kids can't be fighting again when I (literally) just dealt with this exact issue.
Stay at home Mom or full time work force Mama, the reality is raising children is hard, scratch that, the hardest thing I can ever imagine doing in the history of the world. And since we're being honest, I'll just put it out there – I know I'm terrible at it.
I'll menu plan. Half the time. I'll fold the laundry. 60% of the time. I'll lose my temper and fail at showing empathy, patience, grace, love, compassion, and forgiveness 100% of the time. Every single day.
Lord, have mercy on me!
When I shout out of desperation ‘Leave me be! Mommy needs a minute alone!‘ I always tell myself that God never tells me he doesn't have the time or patience to love, listen, or guide me.
When I lose my temper for the zillionth time because I've dealt with the same sin in my children a zillion times and I wonder if it'll ever get any better, I remind myself of the same sins I've been struggling with my entire life that I'm still laying at the foot of the cross. Like, ya know, losing my temper and such.
Yes, I'm a stay at home Mom who dreams of alone time… of a clean house… of obedient children… of a balanced checkbook… of a decluttered car… of (fine, I'll say it) using the bathroom without fighting, constant door knocking, or toddlers barging in. I am, by all measures, truly terrible at this job.
…and yet…
(The Lord never leaves us without an ‘and yet!')
And yet, even though I'm terrible, and even though there are days I would give you a different answer, there's nothing else I'd rather do. I first became a stay at home Mom when we were making a below poverty wage for over full time work. We were so poor. But we knew it was important to both of us for me to be home with the little family we were building and made many, many sacrifices in order to make it possible. We didn't choose for me to stay home with the kids because it was easy – we chose for me to stay home because we felt it would serve our family best.
And that's what my job is. To serve my family.
I don't do it perfectly, that's for dang sure. But as the extremely long days pile up, I realize that the Lord is working to sanctify me through the process. And he's also teaching my children how to practice forgiveness – even towards their mother.
Being a good stay at home Mom doesn't mean organized arts and crafts, freshly baked scones (although, hey, I wouldn't complain if I had one of those right now), and a manicured home. Being a good stay at home Mom means saying, despite the days when I want to suck my thumb in a closet and never ever ever ever come out again, I want to be here – at home, with my children – more than anywhere else in the world. No matter the cost.
Be it financial.
Be it sanity. (Sanity? What's that?)
It is, no doubt, a costly profession.
And so, even as I type and preach this truth, I am teaching myself. To let go of ideals, expectations, and idols and to embrace the crusty bathtub, smelly garbage, trail of orange peel, broken eggs, constant need for correction, lost tempers, sink of dishes, and tears. Not because they mean I will quit working towards a healthy and happy home, but because they mean that in this home, there is life. And I want to experience that life – the good, the bad, and the ugly – with this incredibly awesome crew the Lord has given me the blessing of knowing and loving so intimately.
Not that I won't take you up on an offer to clean my house, wash my laundry, or babysit my children. The answer will always be a HECK YES! Just for the record.
And to my dear sister who isn't ‘good' at being a stay at home, sorry, but you're totally wrong. You love and serve your children faithfully. You are raising them to love and serve the Lord faithfully. And that, my dear, is the only requirement. It doesn't mean doing it perfectly. It means doing it faithfully.
Love you, girl. And Amen.
Ashley
I read this with tears running down my face lol! Thank you for your honesty I needed this very much at this exact moment God’s timing I guess!
Amy
I needed that, I have been feeling so inadequate lately. Feeling everyone just does everything better than I do. This stay at home mom thing is hard! Thank you for being open and honest that you’re just like the rest of us:)
Sara
Thank you so much for this post. Sometimes the days can be so long and lump together that I get caught up in the “Why am I doing this?!?!” self talk and tears. I look at myself negatively and think “You’re a university graduate who left a good paying job to be a stay at home mom.” I really needed a reminder that I’m doing this to serve my family. God has blessed me with a beautiful child who wraps his arms around my neck softly saying “Mama” and kisses my tears away in the midst of a breakdown on a hard day of toddler tantrums and endlessly trying to make everything perfect. I needed to hear that I don’t have to love and serve my family perfectly, just faithfully. Thank you.
Karen
You out of everyoneone else have my simpathy and admiration, mothers like you are incredible because knowing you could be working and “giving your family a better life” by working in something you know you are really good at; you know it is definitely the best if you stay at home. You know nobody would take care of your children the way you do. Because of this sacrifice you are doing, your children will be happier and better taken care of because nobody in this world loves them as much as you do. You are doing a great job and please remember: This will NOT last forever. So enjoy it and you will have those memories to cherish, which not every mother can say. Have a blessed day. 🙂
Enseia
I wish there was a like/love button on this blog!! This blog was such a blessing to me in this season of my life where I have a 21 month old and I am currently 34 weeks pregnant. Sara like you I have a BA and a MA and I ask myself the same question with tears flowing down my face. I always think that having a 8-5 job doing what I know how to do would be way easier! But God reassures me every time that I have a much greater purpose pouring into the little souls He has given to me daily. They didn’t choose to be here but God chose to give them to me and I know that when God gives us something He also gives us what we need to get through it!! For me everyday is HARD being at home because naturally I love being around people and being independent, but God is using me being a stay at home mom to learn to be TOTALLY depending on Him for EVERYTHING. I can’t get out of bed without asking Him to please help me get to nap-time and then during nap-time I’m praying and asking Him to refuel me for the rest of the day!!! I too love that she said we don’t have to be perfect, we just have to be faithful, that releases a huge burden off of the sometimes daily mess-ups I feel I tend to have… I pray that life has gotten much better for you since your initial post in 2015!!
Karen I also LOVE your reply to Sara because it’s recent, it speaks to me and reassures me that this sacrifice is totally going to be worth it years later when they do go off to school because they would have had a firm foundation of my love as well as an example of Christ’s love through me. I am also reminded from your post that not every mom “gets” to stay home with their children or make that choice to do so and for that I should be grateful for the days and moments I do have with my little ones!! Thank you for that reminder!
Blessings to you both 🙂
Rebecca
AMEN!!!! This has been my struggle for the last few years!
Thank you for sharing your heart, and by doing so, encouraging the hearts of many others.
May your soul be refreshed this week as the Lord continues to pour out His grace on you, that it may in return be poured out on your beautifully imperfect kiddos.
Andy Kirchem
Thank you Shaye for sharing your struggles. I left my job a few months ago so I could be a stay at home Dad. You have given me a new perspective on my inability to be as good as I want to be at it.
Jessica
I needed to hear this. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy and are very much outnumbered. I love my children, Would never imagine my life any different!
Cordie
It’s not you! It’s a totally unfair artefact of industrialization– all our little nuclear families off by our lonesome selves. I’ve travelled a little in the “developing” world, where I have friends who live in intact extended kin networks. Tons of relatives live in walking distance. Most of the women I know there work from home, but are hardly ever home alone with their kids. Among the women it’s a constant round of visiting in each other’s houses, watching each other’s kids (teenaged nieces/aunts/cousins are an invaluable asset here), working with each other in shared business ventures, cooking for each other’s families when someone gets sick, etc. etc. etc. They don’t do anything alone. The modern American SAHM thing is totally insane by comparison, but we feel stuck to it because our kin networks are so very broken. No social support. I feel like there needs to be a way for us to repair/replace what’s missing there, for ourselves. We have forgotten how to live in community. Americans have this obsessive and unhealthy pride when it comes to I-can-do-it-myself independence. But for all the rest of human history, we’ve needed each other, depended on each other for survival. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
Emmom
Wow! Love it! We have lots in this country but we are sorely missing this community, I agree. It is a beautiful thing to see in other countries. And the elderly aren’t thrown away but honored and respected and a part of this helping you refer to. Great point, Cordie!
Cathy
Cordie, you have just spoken to the heart of it all. Family Community. I thought of that many times years ago as I was raising my three sons virtually alone, as their father worked 7-day swing shifts. And I still think it now, as a stay-at-home housewife nearly colliding with her 60’s. When you miss something you never had, that’s kind of a clue it is what should be!
Michelle
I could not agree with you more, Cordie. And for the record, it’s not just in America. It’s the same in every urban cities.
Kate
Thank you for your honesty. It can be scary to be that honest publicly. Every time I open up and share my struggles with motherhood with friends on facebook, I always get one friend messaging me to never speak in such a way, even told I was being a bad witness. But motherhood can be in the trenches. Some of us moreso than others. I know mothers who couldn’t even dream of what I’ve been through and I know other mothers who’ve dealt with so much more than I have.
I tell my husband that I feel like I’m pedaling backwards up a mountain on a stationary bike. I pray to God that I just need one weekend, just one weekend away so I can be refreshed and start over. Sometimes we need that, but we can’t always get it.
Sometimes (almost every day), I want that yellow schoolbus to stop in front of the house. Sometimes I want them and the animals to just feed themselves…and maybe bring me a Panera salad and Magnum ice cream bar…
Fact is, Mommies need care, too. I also tell myself when I feel condemnation that while God never leaves us nor forsakes us, I am not God. I am a broken, fallible, weak human. I NEED to eat, sleep, use the bathroom. God doesn’t. I get sick, I get hurt. God doesn’t. How can I compare myself to God when I will never be God. All I can do is allow Him to be my strength, my rest, my peace.
Mary
Thank you for helping me to not feel so alone in this everyday battle. I have a 7month old, 2.5 year old, and almost 5 year old. I have worked some crazy full time jobs , including being a Firefighter for 9 years of my life, and non of them even remotely compare to the stress of being a stay at home mom. I love my little monsters more than life itself, but sometimes my closet looks mighty comfortable and peaceful… Thanks again for this blog. Your shared stories always put a smile on my face and help me to know that how I feel is normal. Wishing you Many Blessings!
Cammy
I just want to thank you for this brillant article. I stayed home and raised our two children and homeschooled them. More young moms need to know this is how it really is and that is just fine. Great word.
julie
Oh, I wish so badly you had been around writing 30 years ago. Love your insight. Amen from an OLD stay at home mom that believes it was ALL worth it.
Julie
Thank you for keeping it real, Shaye????
Robin
Thank you so much for this. I could have sworn I was the only one who felt this way!
Deb B
Oh Shaye! You say what all of us Mom’s feel so often, in just the right way… with Love & such Grace! Thank you.
I’m one of the ‘old’Moms, and I really feel for you young Moms that see into other Moms lives through the internet – and most show you their ‘perfect’ lives, homes, kids -and then you feel like you are lacking because your life isn’t just ‘perfect’ … but really, it is, for you. I am so thankful we didn’t have that when I was a young Wife & Mother, I would have felt so lacking in so many ways!
The perfect craft time with the kids…is it really so perfect? Or the beautiful house, that I would be afraid to live in! The beautiful cookies or fresh baked bread. I would never have measured up to them…
I know many love your blog because it is real. And full of love, for your husband, your kids, your life. What a Blessing to so many young Moms that think they have to have the perfect house & kids -then get so stressed because they don’t have the perfect life.
Thank you.
Kathleen
“It doesn’t mean doing it perfectly. It means doing it faithfully. “–Yes! Thanks for your transparency, and for your encouragement to other faithful (and often weary) mamas. 🙂
Linda Long
Nail on head! I’m so glad to know I’m not alone in thinking I’ve failed when the 3 year old starts screaming in public and I’m exhausted from being up in the wee hours with my second one.
Lynne Taylor
I remember one of the first (of many) times I asked my then 3 y.o. son’s forgiveness for losing my temper. He sweetly looked around and pretended to hand me something. “What is this?” I asked. “You said you lost your temper, so I found it for you.”
I could relate so well to your frustrations. My oldest son is now 25, 2nd is 23, and youngest daughter is now 19. Although I still have times when I beat myself up because, no I was not a perfect mom, far from it, I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. Those years go by so fast (though I know it doesn’t seem like it at the time). I am so glad I had those precious moments with my children. I like to believe that in spite of my mistakes, and the many things I wish I could do over, that those years impacted my children and helped them become the people they are.
If I could give one but if advice, it would be to never, ever compare yourself to others. Accept your God given uniqueness, quirks, warts, and all. Be free in who He has created you to be, and when you do fail, keep short accounts. Confess it, grieve it, and pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move forward, forgetting that which lies behind, and keeping your eyes on Jesus. Be encouraged.
Carrie Clay
I don’t know you but I LOVE YOU!!! thank you for writing this… i am a new stay at home mom. i was an RN, well still an RN just not working right now so i can be with my babies. thank you for this… you wrote what i was thinking and it made my day… i am not alone…
Sarah D
Very timely post. Thank you.
Brie Smith
It always gives me new courage to read about other Moms who feel the same way I do. Thank you for being brave enough to put this out there!
Peacock Orchard
This is the last month of my job. I’ve been here 6 1/2 years. I’ve had both of my children while working this job. My oldest is 4 now. They’ve always been happy at daycare and I’ve always been happy at my job. Some teacher changes at their daycare have led them to be rather unhappy there and while I could switch them (I did when my son was 2) I just can’t justify it. We aren’t poor. My husband makes enough money to support us in style. I just love working. I love what I do. I love my children, of course, but I never saw that as a reason for me to give up me. I figure I am a better person when I maintain my sense of self. So why did I quit? Well they needed me. There is happy sense of self and then there is selfish. I felt that if I continued working now it would be selfish. So I quit. The girl they hired to replace me starts tomorrow. I feel a tremendous loss, and a tremendous hope. We do have a farm, after all. Working on establishing our U-Pick orchard is 3x more challenging when I work full time away from the home. So now I’ll be home, romping with our vibrant children and planting trees at a more sedate pace thanks to my income loss.
Now let’s just hope my husband can survive my bored home renovations. So far they’ve been fairly minor but I see missing walls in our future. Gleeful at the prospect!
Anyway, I think people should do what works of them. If working works out, go for it. If not, stay home without guilt. I hate the social constraints that condemn women as lazy for staying home and then calls them horrible mothers for working. We are all mothers, trudging along as best we can.
God bless!
Carin
Thank you for this response. I read so much about how hard it is to be stay at home mom, how hard it is to be a working mom…can we all just agree that it’s just hard! Life in general is hard and we all do the best we can. I am a full-time working mom and do not feel the need to apologize for my strengths or weaknesses. Nor should any other mother, stay at home or not. WE ARE NOT PERFECT. Some days I am supermom, cooking from scratch, volunteering at school, making every meeting on time and still find some down time. Other days, let’s say not so much, and that is okay. I am also fortunate to have married a man that doesn’t leave it all to me. We created these beings together and that means everyone gets down in the trenches. It is a partnership. I believe that if your intention is to raise good human beings that know love and respect, then you are doing a good job. I can honestly say that I am not critiquing the homes, craftiness or cooking skills of my stay at home friends. Honestly, at the end of the day, none of it matters.
Michele K
This is October 2018 and I just read your comment. If you see this, I would love to know how you’re doing!
MamaBear
Just the other week I was crying in the shower and pouring my heart out to God, telling him all the things I didn’t have. I was telling Him how I didn’t have the patience and the energy and the grace to mother my sweet daughters. As clear as if someone was standing there speaking to me, I felt Him impress this upon my heart: “But you have the love.” And really, isn’t that all we need?
Lady Locust
One of the most valuable gifts I ever rcvd. was coming home and finding that the babysitter (who only lived a mile down the road) had brought the kids home and did the dishes, floors, and had the kids clean up their stuff & their room. It was a total blessing. I hope to be able to pass that kind of blessing on when I’m not 8-6ing it.
Cordie made a great point about our culture vs. others.
Alisha
Thanks for the encouragement from another momma!
Sally
Thank you so much for sharing this..
Katie H.
Totally needed this today…I can relate to living below the poverty line just so I can stay home with our kids (like we could afford daycare anyway in order for me to work…ha). Some days I want to totally drop off the deep end and rip my hair out, but at the same time, there’s no other place I’d rather be. Thanks for the encouragement!
Janet
Beautiful.
Carolyn
I was a stay at home mom and then a single mom who was able to stay home a few more years. I went back to school & then to work when my kids got to be school age. My house was usually a wreck. But guess what? We ate. We painted. We went to the park. We sometimes lived in unfolded clothes pulled out of laundry baskets all week. We ate hot dogs. We once found 15 (yes, 15) empty water bottles rolling around in the van. Guess what? We had a total BLAST. I’ve got one college graduate employed in her (very difficult) field, another in college and doing fantastic. I am now a teacher. I’m remarried and between us there are five kids who were with us a few years before they all went and started their own lives. Some even had spouses here for a while. Crazy. CRAZY. Now they’re off and running and it’s a bit quiet. Is my house perfect? Well, no, because I teach and have stuff here & there. But there are no tiny fingerprints or mismatched baby socks. Do I miss all that? And the endless driving them places? Yes and no. Life has phases. I miss things and I don’t miss things. Mostly, I have learned to enjoy the NOW and don’t sweat the rest. You will have the rest of your life to perfectly sort the laundry. But your kiddos won’t be in the house forever. Enjoy them in every phase!!! And stay off Pinterest. LOL
Ashley
Girl I finished college and went back to work because I felt that I was s terrible stay at home Momma. I love reading that someone else shares the same struggles. I feel so inadequate and hateful at times. It’s nice to have this encouragement.
The Micah Principle
Our sisters have seen us at our best and worst but yet, they still love us. I’m so happy you have such a close relationship with your sister. Many people don’t. You are blessed beyond measure Shaye! 🙂
Kitty
This post was perfectly timed!! Thank you for the reminder that none of us our perfect in this journey.
Kitty
are perfect….thank you auto-uncorrect
Michelle
Wow that was awesome! I don’t feel so crazy anymore since reading that. I felt like I was losing my mind lately with my precious 2yr old. I felt my house was never clean, my food choices were slim to none and my level of patience was zero!! But since reading this post I know that I am not alone in this journey of being a stay at home mommy. Thanks so much for bearing your soul and helping us deal in this real world of mommies!
Charlotte
Great truth in all you’ve said! As a SAHM of 3 (now grown) children, I can honestly say that it will be over in what seems like a blink of an eye. And believe it or not those bad memories seems to disappear. If I remind my now grown kids of times I had that seemed like a struggle they don’t even remember it. They just tell me over and over that they are glad I was there at home with them. They don’t have bad memories of day care or being left with someone else day after day. Keep up the good work SAHM’s you are truly doing what is THE most important job in the world!!
Cassandra
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I so needed to hear/read these words!!!
Ruthie Gray
Ah this is so lovely. I remember being in the thick of it, losing my temper, wondering if my kids would even turn out to be semi-functional human beings with such a messed-up mother. So much frustration, day-in, day-out.
Crying out to God to even curse me if I lost my temper one more time. (Thinking that’d be a sure incentive for me to never do that again – NOT.)
And yet, I remember so little of the bad times now and so much of the joy.
So do my kids. Mom of four – one left in the nest, Gigi now, everyone’s either in college or beyond.
Do you know what they did? The rose up and CALLED ME BLESSED.
I know, right?!?
It’s all God. All of it. In every step of pain, anger, and frustration, God was working.
We can be sure He uses our humanity, for that is what He came to do. Immanuel, God with us.
You are doing a great work here, mama.
And I adore your spot. Hangeth thou in there! 🙂
David
I feel like you’ve summed up my own feelings of inadequacy about being a stay-at-home dad.
Hilary
Jude is incredibly cute! I just about died when I saw his picture!
Hannah
I’d like to print this and read it everyday. This is really encouraging.
hannah
oh i needed this so much today and everyday for that matter. Thank you for your honesty and letting me know im nto alone in my many imperfections!
Victoria
I’m a young SAHMommy of three under 5. We have a pretty low income as well. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning. We don’t even own a house. How did you do it?
Kristi
Gorgeous truth. And beautifully written. Thank you for your transparency and courage.
Deb B
Oh Shaye! I think as ‘Young Mom’s’ we all have so many doubts, and tears…and then as ‘Old Mom’s’ maybe we are a little better at dealing with all the ups & downs of being a Mom, but I think it’s because we are so tired that we don’t let the little things get to us like they used to… and that’s why kids need both parents, ( and yes, a Sister’s or girlfriend’s shoulder to cry on!) one can be strong & help the other when they are falling a part…
I am sending a Sister to your blog that feels like she’s not a good Mom, and she loves to cook! (I’m going to order a cookbook for her as soon as I can.)
Thanks so much, for everything!
Deb B
Liz C
Dear heavens I needed this! I ‘inherited’ 6 kids a few years ago and my Mama was helping me care for them. She went home to Heaven and I have been treading muddy water since. Trying and trying and then trying again. I thought I was the only one who wanted to hide in the closet-lol. There are days I don’t leave much to be desired in my behavior. They are all my nieces and nephews, I never had children of my own-God works in mysteriously crazy ways :). Every day is extreme, every day. At the end of the day I feel tired, wore out, frustrated, crazy, and completely in love and blessed. God works in mysteriously crazy ways.
Margaret
Thanks so much for writing this! I really needed to read it. Right now I’m dealing with tons of sibling fighting ALL THE TIME from morning till bedtime!! It really wears my patience. I’m sure it will pass in time, but it drives me crazy. I try to let them work it out, but they don’t ever seem to work it out…I just keep praying & count the minutes till my hubby gets home to offer some relief. ???? I never went back to work after my 1st one & probably don’t plan to until they’re in high school or later…I try to sleep while they’re at school to try to be ready for the endless arguing. I deal with it much better when I’m not exhausted. Some days, I’m at my wits end & just don’t know what to do. I sometimes retreat to my room & pray. Don’t know what else to do. Sometimes, I call my Mom for advice. That helps, too. Thank God for her. She always gives the best advice. Although, sometimes she suggests putting the tv on for them but I can’t bc then they can’t get their homework done…Any advice, please share. Thanks!
Abigail @ They're Not Our Goats
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I struggle every day with feeling like I’m awful at this. I needed to read this, and I even needed to read all the comments. You’ve given me courage for another day.
Janet
This is my favorite blog post in the entire World Wide Web. Thank you for your honesty and encouragement!
Erika @aestheticmomma.com
My husband and I made the decision for me to be a stay-at-home-mom when he was making piddle change and were engaged. We had just turned 19 and we knew had very few needs. Our priest didn’t question our devotion but he said he was a bit worried about our finances. God has continued to bless us over and over again. Not that we are rich, we scrape by, but I can’t believe where we are today. Being a stay-at-home-mother has added so much peace to our lives and I know all these years are time well spent. Something that comforts you unto your last breath-time well spent.
Candice Christensen
Amen! I got married and started my family 12 years before my older sister so seeing her go through it all is such a crazy perspective to have. I think every mom needed that post. Love it.
K
“When I shout out of desperation ‘Leave me be! Mommy needs a minute alone!‘ I always tell myself that God never tells me he doesn’t have the time or patience to love, listen, or guide me. ”
This is something I am more grateful for than I could ever express.
Thank you for sharing something so many of us feel.
We also decided I should be a stay-at-home mom though we were below the poverty level (hubby was a Christian school teacher). Now 4 children into this, I can say I am better at it some times and feel extremely inadequate most of the time. The Lord has been gracious.
I admit to being a bit jealous about your ability to lean on your sister at times. My parents only had one child – me – and when I called my mom up to share my woes (on not-so-thoughtful comments from fellow believers on my mothering) the other day she told me to “get tougher skin.” Thanks, Mom.
My husband is my rock and I have been more blessed having him as my friend, support and lover than I would have ever dreamed.
Thank you for your honesty.
Cat
Wow. This post couldn’t have been at a better time in my life. I’m starting to feel like a failed stay-at-home mom and was just telling my sister how down I’ve been about the whole thing. Thank you for being so honest. There’s not enough stay at home moms who are.
Lucas Branstetter
I am a stay at home dad. My wife shared this post with me in a FB message because she is in a bus to the next town for a couple of days to work in the school office. Your post was both challenging and encouraging, thank you. I also FAIL at being a stay at home dad daily. I am also crying reading this.
Melanie
I definitely have days when I want to suck my thumb and hide in a closet! That made me laugh out loud. I love reading about your messy life. As a young mom with two toddlers, it’s truly inspiring to read.
Wanda
There will be a day when all is quiet, the crying, screaming, laughter has all faded into silence.
Thats when all your happy memories kick in.
You see your beautiful children come home for a visit, the pride you get with every sucess they have and most important is when those loving arms encirle you with an extra squeeze and they say, “I love you MOM”.
This is what you have to look forward to. All your struggles fade away and all the sweet memories stay for you to remember.
Thats the beauty that God allowes us to keep forever.
An example of this, if you know someone with Alzheimer you see that they can forget something said 2 mins ago but can share with you in great detail there past. So believe.
God will always bring your special memories when you are at the brink.
HE wants you, and all mothers struggling to make it another day that HE made you perfect and in his image. So grab that and know he is with you.
We are not given a owners manual when we give birth to the precious bundles. So we do the best we can.
You are doing a great job.