Crazy in Love

A while back my mom was talking to one of my cousins who is my age and also has two young children. She is working full-time as an engineer. When my mom told her that I have taken a break from my career to stay at home with my daughters my cousin simply replied, “I would go crazy.” Hear this working moms: When you encounter a stay-at-home mom, PLEASE do not say “I would go crazy,” or anything of the like. By saying such you are implying that we ARE crazy. Of course there are many reasons why we might be considered so: Years of higher education now being used to change diapers and cleaning spit up, days on end when the only people we talk to cannot tie their own shoes and, of course, having the very peppy theme songs to any number of cartoons constantly stuck in one’s head. However, each stay-at-home mom has her reason for being one and all are very important reasons and should be respected. It takes a special woman to be a SAHM. Does it make one crazy? Possibly, because while I am watching “Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas” yet AGAIN (yes, it IS May!) my youngest stares at me while drinking her bottle and my oldest climbs up and snuggles next to me, hugging my arm I realize that I am crazy. Crazy in Love.

What's in a Name?

I don’t really even like kids. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE my daughters, but as a rule I have never really been able to identify with kids enough to enjoy hanging out with them. I babysat maybe twice as a tween before I realized I was much more comfortable with people older than me rather than younger. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to have children until right before we got pregnant with our first. When we decided to have children we also decided that I would give up working and stay at home, at least until the kids went to school. After spending several years as a professional with a title and a job description, I now find it difficult to fill in things like “occupation” on forms. Housewife? No. Homemaker? GOD no. I struggle with that often. What will my girls say when talking about me? “My daddy is a judge and my mom just stays at home with us.” JUST. Why do I have a master’s degree JUST to help my two-year-old put on and take off her shoes countless times a day? But as my mom’s principal told her when she was planning to get married, “God need smart mommies too.” Now I simply fill in “Mommy” on those forms. Is that ALL I am? Of course not, but right now, that is my priority. Then my daughter says “Mommy, shoe help peeeees,” for the fourth time this morning and I think “I am Mommy and that is the most powerful and important title there is."