Before this post gets blasted with negative comments, please remember that these are my reasons and not a generalization.  By no means am I saying that being a SAHM is easier than being a working mom or vice versa.

(Are you kidding me?  I wake up every morning aching from pain.  Hands down, the toughest job I have EVER had.  I just happen to enjoy it more than going to work.  My husband and I always say that for all the bad, it’s that one good that makes it all worth it.  This is true.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not one of those delusional moms in denial who paint unrealistic pictures of butterflies and rainbows when describing their daily life as a SAHM.   I don’t know what Kool Aid they’re drinking, but I am sure it has to be spiked.  LOL!  For me, being a SAHM is one heck of a roller coaster ride where the ups outweigh the many downs, twists and turns)

I am just one of many stay-at-home-moms.  I do not speak for all SAHM’s nor do I care to be a spokesperson for such.  I don’t judge either way and I sure hope that my readers do not as well.  I only wish to entertain with my blog posts, not make a statement.  All any of us can hope for is that all moms/parents, whether working or staying at home, do the best that they possibly can to raise good-hearted, respectful, well-mannered, hardworking and capable citizens.  🙂

Here we go!

10.  I hate playing that one-sided game where I am racing to “beat the clock” and the clock always wins.

• Face it, until the kids have to make it to school on time and beside the necessary health appointments, this momma will not have to hit the snooze button a gazillion times and risk over sleeping with barely enough time to make it to work.   My babies don’t give a bleepin’ bleep whether I get their breakfast ready at 8:00 or 8:05.  Sure, “sleeping in” no longer exists once children enter our lives.  But, at least I can drag myself out of bed in my pajamas and stay in them for as long as I dang well please.  It’s not like a have a boss to report to or a time card to punch.  Well, I do have two bosses to report to, but the only thing they need me to punch is fruit.  LOL!  Get it?  Omg!  That was definitely a corny and lame joke.  😉

9.  Traffic can suck it!

• Yes!!!  I no longer have to risk my life, or anyone else’s life for that matter,  while I weave in and out of traffic trying to “beat the clock”.  The entire commuting population should thank their lucky stars that I am no longer a part of their morning commute.  Traffic sucks any way you slice it, whether I am channeling Speed Racer or just simply wasting away in a bumper to bumper parking lot.  I got 99 problems, and traffic sure is one!  😉

8.  I want to be there to see and capture all the firsts

• What parent doesn’t want this?  I am sure all do.  Not trying to sound all superior or “holier than thou” at all.  I feel for those in situations where parents want to be there, but can not due to financial situations.  I am thankful I have the choice to stay at home or work outside of the home.  Not everyone has that luxury and I totally get it.  Please don’t think I am rubbing it in.  My decision to want to be there to see all these things happen and help make them happen can be attributed to my experiences as the go to babysitter/nanny for one of my sister’s.  Her situation was that of a single mom of four kids.  I felt so bad that she missed out on all the things that I got to see and do.  I got to see every first crawl, step, first tooth, first word, taught them how to swim, abc’s and 123’s, all that good stuff.  That was one of the things that made me most sad, was that I was not their mom, yet I got to have all the “mommy/daddy” moments.

7.  Playtime isn’t just for the them  😉

• My husband and I don’t hide the fact that we are big kids at heart.  We sure don’t act or feel our age at all.  So, when the kids and I go on an outing to the zoo, park, shopping, Gymboree, nature strolls/walks, or any child-centered activity, I am having just as much fun.  Seriously, who can complain when it’s time for arts and crafts?  🙂

6.   So I don’t need to play catch up with the laundry, dishes, and other household chores

• Maybe it is just me, but I can’t stand seeing piles of laundry that need to sorted, folded and put away.  It drives me CRAZY!!!  Not to mention dirty dishes.  Being a slightly recovered obsessive compulsive neat freak, I can’t stand not having a tidy house.  The old me, before kids, needed a spotless house, but now I will settle for neat and tidy.  So being at home, I get the chance to keep things in working order.  Not spotless mind you, I’m no hero.  😉

5.  No need to accumulate vacation or sick days just to take one

• No explanation needed

4.  Save Money

• You think?  Whether a family decides to use a nanny, a babysitter, or daycare, the costs add up.   Neither option is cheap, especially daycare where in addition to fees you get to make multiple trips to see the doctor due to constant illnesses.

It’s an easy formula to calculate:  SAHM + SAHK(ids) = BANK!

3.  Avoid rare, but possible risks such as: severed digits, kidnapping, death, physical/emotional/sexual abuse, neglect, etc…

• I know readers out there will find this reason silly, a result of paranoia, overactive imagination, or just outright stupid!!!  Call it what you want, but although incidences of one of these things occurring is rare,  it has happened more than one would care to admit and most often by the hands of those who are paid to care for our child.

2.  Avoid the spread of even more germs

• Rest assured, this SAHM is no dummy and I am quite aware that my kids will come into contact with germs regardless of whether they stay at home or attend daycare.  However, minimizing how many runny nosed, snot picking, private part grabbing, forgot to wash my hands after potty, cough in your face children my kids come in contact with.  This goes a long way especially during flu and cold season, not to mention the spread of lice.  Ick!  At least for the first three years of my children’s lives, I want to try to keep the occurrence of colds, rashes, all types of flu and strains, bugs, and the like, to a minimum.  What kid wants to be bothered by all that more than twice or thrice, before they even reach preschool age?

1.  I honestly would rather stay home then go to work

• I have never had a job I truly enjoyed.  Stupid right?  I mean, a paycheck’s a paycheck so just suck it up and go to work already!
  

  So says my hardworking sister whose work ethic is one to be admired.  You see, she does not like to work at all, but gets up at the crack of dawn every morning to make sure my mother has a roof over her head and my siblings can go “grocery shopping” in her pantry.  In fact, when it comes to working, all of my sisters have a work ethic that is something to be marveled.  They all wake up at the crack of dawn and get their “arses” to work, being that they are main providers in their household and single parents.  They sure do put me to shame that’s for sure.  I will never argue this true fact.

• My husband and I have often pondered why it is that I have never found that one job/profession that I don’t mind getting paid for.  It finally donned on me that I had found my calling with only one drawback…it doesn’t pay in a monetary sense.  I was meant to be a SAHM, because that is what I do best and I don’t mind or hate the fact that I don’t get a salary for it.  I know I am going to make feminist that have paved my way admonish me from the grave.  I am not boasting it, I am just merely stating what I have come to acknowledge and accept.  Some women want to climb that ladder of success and some women simply don’t have the choice to stay home.  Everyone is different and all of us are awesome no matter where it is we work or how much we get paid.

• Also, the entire work environment was not where I wanted to spend the majority of my day.  When I was a working gal, I found myself teeter tottering back and forth from being overly social, to avoiding making eye contact with coworkers so as not to have to engage or participate in “chit chat”.  Yuck!  Gag me!  Don’t get me wrong, I love people.  I just hate that lack of authenticity that comes along with conversing with co workers.   Not to mention the fact that I always feel somewhat forced to portray a persona that is not representative of my true self.  This is more my problem than that of employers or co-workers.  This is no problem for others, but for me…No Thank You!!!   I would rather stay home where I am who I am and I don’t mind making eye contact with my greatest blessings.  🙂