I Love My Job

My neighbor came over last week and when I opened the door in my use-to-be-a-dress apron, she told me how cute it was. I explained what it used to be and she looks at me and says, "You know how to do that?!" Yes I do.

I was also making a giant batch of chicken stock at the time. When she told me it smelled really good and asked what was it, I told her and she just stops and says "Wow, you're really all Susie Homemaker, aren't you?"

Yes. Yes, I am. And I'm damn proud of it thank you very much.

When we got pregnant the first time, my original thought was that I would have the baby, take a few months off, then go back to work, towing the little person with me since my dad (who I worked for) had a large baby-friendly room in the back of the shop that I could use.

Then we found out we were having two and, well... plans changed a little bit. Ok, I guess I can still just go back to work and I'll make it work with two little people in the other room. Then our boys came three months early and plans changed again. Big time. The whole time they were in NICU I was pumping. Constantly. I tried to go back to work, put when you have two little babies to feed... Well it doesn't leave much time to do the books.

And without really talking about it, or thinking about it, or really planning for it at all, I became a stay at home mom as soon as our babies came home. It just felt so natural and right. 

To me, though, being a stay at home mom isn't just about being mom. I mean, yes, a great deal of my time is spent taking care of and raising my boys. But it's more than that for me. I run this house from top to bottom while Ben is at work. We were talking about it the other night, and I said that I considered it to be my trade off. If he was going to work his butt off so that I could stay home, it was my responsibility to take care of Home, not just the kids. Really, as much as I would just love to sit on my butt and knit all day it wouldn't be fair to him since he really works so hard for us.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything. When Ben's coworkers see the food that he brings to work with him they are all amazed that I can cook. Apparently, no one else's wives really do that. I'm proud of the fact that I can cook well and sew, and knit. Yes, I make all our own bread and I LOVE it. I'm pretty handy and can fix just about anything. I clean obsessively a lot to make sure it's all purdy when Ben gets home. I feel like I channel the women who were home and did it all, and milked the cows at dawn. We just don't have a cow. It's just all part of the job and I enjoy it.

Yesterday Ben came home and told me he had to show me something that made him very thankful. I had made a post on Facebook about making the kids dust while I cleaned the rest of the house. Then he scrolls down to show me a post from his friend's girlfriend saying "Dear house. Please clean yourself. Thank you." He said it made him very appreciative of what he has.

Mission accomplished.