Sticky hugs and snotty kisses

Being a stay at home mommy is hard. 
Being a working mommy is hard.
Being a single mommy is hard. 
Let's just face it - being a mommy is just.... plain.... hard.
It's the hardest, most tiring job you will ever do.
But today, I want to just talk about the unique challenges of the SAHM, because that's what I am and it's what I know.




Tucker the growing boy

It is a daily "dying to one's self" to spend all of your energy, creativity, and resources to rear children. Excuse me - "raise"children.  (I forgot I was southern there for a minute).  There are many different types of SAHMs out there.  Here are just a few that I have observed:
The going-back-to-school SAHM
The home-business SAHM
The I-wanna-be-a-Duggar SAHM
The country-club-socialite SAHM
The volunteer SAHM
The homeschool SAHM

Well, I could go on but you get the picture.  We all, as women, seem to look for something to "define ourselves as" other that just a Stay-At-Home-Mom.  We sometimes seem afraid to just simply be about the business of our home and family.  We seem afraid to let that be enough. 

Lila Grace and her bow

 I am simply a Stay at Home Mom.  I choose to be a Stay at Home Mom.  I love it, mostly.  I spend my days wiping various bodily fluids off children, teaching counting and behavior, fixing meals, doing laundry, and cleaning up messes.  And that's ok - I don't need to be defined as something else.  I'm not ashamed that this is "all" I do.  I don't feel as if my college education is being wasted (can education ever really be wasted) or that my talents could be used better by some organization that needs my help. 




Lyra Kate and that red hair


I am spending the best years of my childrens' childhood with them - day in and day out.  That's not to say that I don't dabble in a few things -
I am learning new things everyday so I am continuing my education.
I am reselling things we don't need anymore so I am making a bit of money.
I am in the unsure-if-God-will-bless-us-with-more-children stage so who knows how big our family will get.
I am not of the country club set but that's not something I will ever miss.  Scott is terrible at golf anyway!
I am a volunteer at our church and in this stage of life that's all I can manage.
I am a homeschool mom but we haven't officially started yet.

At the end of the day though, I am just a mommy.  And that's all I need to be.  I have chosen to sacrifice material things (and some sanity) to be the one who invests in my children all day, every day. I am privileged to get to do this.  I know.  I am blessed.

I'm just raising children and becoming an expert at accepting sticky hugs and snotty kisses without flinching.