Life Of A Stay At Home Mom

Can you recall the time, the moment, the emotions you experienced when you officially realised that you have become a stay-at-home mom (SAHM)?

I can second this thought and it is indeed a reality check. ‘What am I going to do all day with an infant all by myself?’, I realized vividly. ‘I can do this.’ I told myself, gearing up all my hopes and strength. What exactly do we SAHMs do all day? We work, without pay cheques. Period.

It is a full time job, never ending, without sick days or breaks, lonely, tiring, but most importantly, it is special and rewarding in its own sweet way. Today’s SAHM may be highly educated, and may have left a highly paid job to stay at home to take care of her kids. The stereotype of a woman sitting at home watching TV while eating, is no longer a reality. Perhaps, a SAHM does every single thing to keep her house running smoothly. From planning meals, to budgets, to taking care of children and their needs, a SAHM works 24*7.

As a working woman (after marriage), I used to look at moms with their kids in parks and playgrounds, and wished the same easy and free life for myself 

after having a kid. You know what, I have now realized what a difference a few years and a kid makes in our thoughts and lives. I left my job after I conceived and decided to spend more time with my son and to work from home, thus became a full time SAHM.

Motherhood is not easy as it may seem, whether we work in an office or at home, there are challenges of a SAHM and her life.

Busy Life

While working in an office, in addition to pay checks, we often get breaks during the day. But SAHMs day starts when their kids wake up (even before that) and ends after the kids are asleep. I rarely get a chance to go to the bathroom unaccompanied. The meals are never on time now; coffee would turn into cold coffee and food to frozen food. But this is what I chose, to feed my son properly, on time and by myself.

Explanation

It is not tiring or frustrating to stay at home, but to explain it to everyone what I do the whole day sitting at home, is what bothers me the most. Cooking, cleaning, playing, nursing, feeding, and all that you can think of, is what I do the whole day, but I do not watch TV while eating for sure. Why can’t people just forget this question!

Clean Home, A Dream

Keeping my house (or even my room) clean is a dream I can’t even think of, for a few years. A messy house, with toys scattered all over, are the perks of having a kid at home. My son sleeps and I get a chance to clean the room. However, the moment he gets up, the room comes back to its normal self (the messy one). Ahhh! It is exhausting.

Miss The Workplace

I love my son more than anything, but I do miss going to work every day and meeting my colleagues and friends. It is not that I do not enjoy my son's company, but I do miss my workplace a lot.

Anger

We, the SAHMs, are full of warmth and kindness. However, in practice, we do experience anger, stress, depression and sadness. We would never want these feelings to affect our parenting style, but it is perfectly okay to feel low at times.

Jack Of All Trades

Being a SAHM means getting everyone’s needs met all day long. I have got used to multitasking now. Making my son eat, while running and playing, never felt so easy.

No Routine

Before my son was born, I actually had a routine for all my work. But now, I can’t eat on time even if I am hungry. Now household works linger on as if I will get separate time to do the work.

I wish my son young and little again so that he can be wrapped up in me. Even when I want to run away, I know that I will miss the days of SAHM. Nature has made us this way– tough parenting phases (like childbirth) and the pain, anger, stress, depression, but then we only remember the pleasure. Remember, one day you will blink and wonder where the time went. It is aptly said- Cherish every moment, and in our case- kids grow up very fast, so hold them, kiss them, love them, cuddle them, because one day all this will be a memory.

Being a SAHM means adapting to parenthood and its pros and cons. At first, I imagined my home to be one of the cleanest homes. But then reality sinked in 

and I realized that it needs effort to do so. For me, being able to stay at home is a wonderful blessing; however there are days when it seems like a struggle. Now my deepest wants, needs and desires are side-swiped by the needs of my family. Every day has its own battles, but there are also days that are beautiful and rewarding. Being a SAHM is not easy and no one is perfect. Find out your own ways of dealing with this crazy, yet wonderful life.

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Komal Gupta is a multiple award winning freelance content writer, has authored 2 solo poetry books- 'Strings Of Emotions' & 'Panoramic Vision'. After quitting her banking job and being a happy stay-at-home mom of a 2.5 years old boy, she is now fulfilling her dream of writing her heart out. She has co-authored over 45 anthologies, and has also written content for Digital Magazines, Upgrading India Official Blog and Happy Motherhood website.