Just Ranting

Just venting this morning. I don’t know why, but the past couple of days some things that I’ve seen on facebook have just rubbed me the wrong way.

I hate when people who are Stay At Home Moms get all huffy when people tell them they don’t have a real job.

As a woman that is a mother, I know how difficult it is, how time consuming, and how exhausting. You don’t have to sell me on the fact that it is hard. However, people that list their career as SAHM when all of their kids are in school, list themselves as a chef, an event planner, a driver, a housekeeper, accountant and a personal shopper because they stay at home with their kids? And go on to say it’s the hardest job in the world? I’m not buying it.

You know why?

Because I do all of that PLUS go to work 40 hours a week.

I would give anything to be able to stay at home with my kids. When we decided to have kids, I didn’t think to myself, “How can I best shirk the tireless responsibility that is having children? I know, I’ll get a full time job!” No, I thought, “What is best for my children? Well, it’s probably best for them to have a roof over their head, food in their belly’s, and clothes on their backs, so I guess I should probably go back to work.”

I get up at 5 am. If I’m feeling particularly motivated, I might fold a load of laundry and load the dishwasher before packing a bag for the kids to take to my mother in laws for the day. I get the kids up and into the car, drive them to my MIL’s, and drive to work. I spend eight and a half hours there! From 7 am- 3:30 pm, I get to deal with whining, complaining, rude adults whose bad attitudes rival those of my children. I get to deal with money, and bills, and accounting every. single. day. And then what do I get to do? Get in the car and drive home during rush hour, stopping to pick up the kids. Once I’m home, my “second” job begins, because I get to throw a load of laundry in the wash, because that doesn’t stop just because I work. While clothes are washing, I get to cook dinner, and load the dishwasher because dirty dishes don’t stop just because I’m at work either. I get to fight with my kids and try to get them to eat something before bed, then I get to bathe them, and get them dressed for bed. Then begins the hour-long trial that is Bedtime. After fighting two children to stay in bed, I go and move laundry from washer to dryer and throw in another load. If I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I run to the store around 8:30 so I can pick up a few things without my children asking for a few hundred more, because grocery shopping doesn’t stop because I work either. I come home and fold the load of laundry that is in the dryer, transferring a second load from the washer to the dryer, and then I finally fall in bed around 11:00, and might fall asleep by midnight, if I can stop thinking about all the things I have to get done tomorrow. And the weekends? The weekends entail everything I couldn’t get done during the week, so I don’t get those either.

So no, stay at home moms, I’m not saying your job is easy; I’m just saying that it’s not the hardest job in the world either, because those of us that have a 40 hour a week job outside of the home? We have to find a way to squeeze two full time jobs into a 24 hour day. Those things that you have ALL day to do? We’ve got a few hours before we fall into bed.

I don’t generally take issue with stay at home moms. Good for them, that they are in a place where it is feasible for them to stay home, but after about the fifth person on my facebook posted they have the hardest job in the world because they’re home with their kids, I’m ready to tell them to kiss my fat rear.

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