Why I am a SAHM

SAHM, for those of you who don’t know, is the online/blogging acronym for “stay at home mom.” One of my favorite sites, Splitcoaststampers, sells a “stamp at home mom” T-shirt that I would love (hint, hint, Webmaster). But that’s another story.

Here is the reason in a nutshell – I love my kids more than you do. There. It’s the truth.

I have had many people tell me how lucky/fortunate the Webmaster and I are, because we can “afford” to have me stay home with the kids. This was not luck. This was a carefully executed plan. We waited to have kids until we were settled and ready to give up my income.

The Webmaster makes a good living. We can afford our mortgage payments and all the other bills without ending up destitute every month. If I was working, and now especially with 2 kids, it would cost us more to care for them than it does to not have me work. The cost of daycare is staggering. Yes, I might be able to have some family help, but they have their lives, too.

The Munchkin currently has a cold, which she picked up in the church nursery. I think she may have given it to Baby Boy, despite our best efforts. I hate it when they are sick. 99.9 % of the time, the Munchkin gets these bugs from other kids. I can’t even imagine what she would pick up in a daycare situation.

But the bottom line is that I love my kids. I have been with them every day of their lives. There has been only one time that I didn’t kiss the Munchkin good night right before she went to bed, and that was when I was in the hospital after giving birth to her brother. Yes, they do stay with baby-sitters, but I am their primary caregiver. I love them more than anyone else in the world does, except their father. What daycare provider could claim that?

I feel badly for those who are stuck, due to bad planning, the economy, or other factors, and have to leave their kids. I have been reading other blogs that have tried to justify sticking their kids in daycare. I don’t know how they can do it, because I can’t.

You see, I was the one who the Munchkin first walked to. I was the one that Baby Boy actually smiled at first. I’m the one watching Sesame Street with the Munchkin, day in and day out, listening to her try and sing along to “Rubber Duckie.” I’m the one who consoles Baby Boy when his sister sits on him. It is scary, being the center of the universe to these two. But it is worth it. Oh, trust me, it’s worth it. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 at 9:31 am and is filed under Children.
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