a Shout Out

All my life, I've known exactly what I wanted to do with my life. While my little girlfriends were dreaming about being actresses, teachers, nurses, or even the president, I was dreaming of being a wife and mother. Why? Because even at a young age I saw the importance of pouring into those blessings that the Lord gives you, not to mention that I watched my mom accomplish this life with grace and dignity. I wanted to do the same. Well, you can imagine the conversations that this stirred up... "Well, that's nice, but what do you want to do with your life?" or even better "that won't be that hard. You're smart - you should atleast have something to fall back on."

While I agree that you should never sell yourself short, who has the right to say that being a stay at home mother is in any way doing just that. I truly believe that those women who have the ability to pour into their children 24/7 are truly blessed. Not only are they helping to shape the next generation, but they are impacting the Kingdom by shaping the tools the Lord will use for His glory. She could be raising the next most influential leader, minister, president, scientist who cures cancer, or even the next young lady who chooses family as the most important thing in her life.

I think it is truly rude for people to judge those who decide to stay home with their children and look upon this career choice as no career at all. In my few weeks at home, I have learned to respect, even more, those women who choose to stay home all the time. I would have never known the hours that truly slip through your fingers as you are absorbed with feedings and diaper changing. Then you have the hours where your precious baby will not let you put him/her down, so you end up holding them for hours on end. You watch the precious hours of the day slowly slip through your fingers and the to-do list on your refirigerator grow even longer for the next day. It's exhausting and frustrating but rewarding and exciting all at the same time.

I truly have respect for every woman that chooses the route of staying home. I do wish, though, that this decision to be a stay at home mom was a dream that was easier to grasp. With this economy, it can be virtually impossible for women to have the option for how they want to handle their family situation. Most women, like myself, need to continue working for various reasons. Mostly it is just to be able to live an average life full of careful budgets and planning. I hope to one day conquer the dream of staying home full time with my children. In the meantime, my prayer, though seemigly unrealistic, is that the government will realize that the high cost of living and other financial burdens in only hindering families nationwide by not allowing people the choice.