Just a stay at home mom

When I was growing up, women's lib with its ideas of career and independence was a big thing. So I fully expected to be a working mom when the time came. I realized that I didn't like nor was I very good at the supermom thing. Today, many women feel as I do.

While the image of a stay at home mom is somewhat improved, in the scheme of things, she still isn't as valued or held in high regard. In a world in which many people are defined by what they do, being a stay at home is seen as low man ...or woman... on the totem pole. People get this look on their faces like they are afraid I won't understand what they are talking about when I tell them I'm a mom. Being a stay at home mom doesn't mean I'm stupid or ignorant. Hey, I have a master's degree. Just because I choose not to use it doesn't mean I can't hold a meaningful conversation. My kids are older so you don't have to worry about me talking about their birth or first spit up.

The reality is, being a stay at home mom is probably the hardest job there is. There is no job as important as molding young people into productive adults. Funny, when people do bad things, society often points a finger at their parents as the root cause of the problem. "Both parents worked." "Latch key kid." etc. Yet, when meeting a stay-at-home mom they so highly underplays her contribution. (BTW...let me say that I don't think that kids who have working parents will grow up to do bad things. I was a latch-key kid myself. I'm only pointing out society's contradicting attitudes). How can someone be "just a stay at home mom" when society places so much emphasis on families' contribution to social ills?

I'm a stay at home and proud of it.

Now hand over the bon-bons! Oprah is on!

Leslie