Lately I have really been thinking about my role as a stay-at-home mom (or a SAHM according to Dr. Laura). In so many ways it is the most frustrating job ever. The beds you made will be undone and ready to be made again the next morning. The dishes that you just unloaded will be consuming the sink after the next meal. The floor that you just swept will be covered in spilled juice and goldfish in about 5 minutes. The clothes that you just folded and put away will be all over the room whenever a child decides to change clothes for the 10th time that day. The groceries that you just bought seemed to have disappeared and there is nothing to make for dinner. The lists are endless, consuming, and monotonous. Many times at the end of the day I wonder if I even accomplished anything worth while. Sometimes I even wonder what my life would've been like if I had chosen to actually use my degree and have a career. Life would be a lot different that's for sure. But would I really feel satisfied or fulfilled? I don't think I would.
As tedious as the every day chores may be, I have to remind myself that I am not just a stay-at-home mom, I am a mommy and I am a homemaker. I am trying to create a sanctuary for my family, a refuge from the storm. A place where my children feel safe and loved. A place where Cory wants to come home to every night. A place where the pressures, fears, and demands of the world seem to fade away when the front door closes. That is what I am trying to make each day as I make the bed, sweep the floor , and clean the toilet once again. It is not an easy job, but it is fulfilling and satisfying when I look at it the way it should be looked at. The way that our Heavenly Father looks at it. The way that my 5 year old daughter looks at it as she walks in the door from school and puts her little arms around my neck and tells me that she loves me. Or the way that my 4 year old looks at it as she cuddles up in my lap while I read her a book. Or the way that my husband looks at it as he walks in the door from a long day at work and sweeps me off of my feet and tells me how happy he is to be home. That is why it is the best job ever. A job that never ends and yet the one that I never want to end.
8 comments:
Thank you for that . . . I needed to be reminded. ;)
i know exactly how you feel....
I know exactly how you feel too. :) Thanks for the good reminder of how making our homes heaven on earth, and especially a refuge from the storm.
I think it's funny that your profile says you're 252 years old. Anyway, I really should have just taken American Heritage in class instead of online. I had wanted to get ahead by taking it online, but obviously that didn't happen. It's not that bad of a class, but it's a TON of reading. It just takes forever. Especially when I'm in school and working.
So well put, Melissa! I so relate to everything you said, but Brad needs to work on the sweeping me off my feet thing. :) Love you!
thats funny-just the other day I was expressing to Cole how frustrating it is sometimes to have everything I do during the day get undone later. Glad to know others feel the same frustrations!! But I completely agree with you-it is totally worth it and very much needed for our families.
Beautifully put and very insightful. One thing is for sure, time doesn't stand still and all too soon you may have days like mine when the only thing that changes is the level of dust on the furniture. Sadly, there are no little finger prints to remind me it needs dusting. Fortunately, you realize that it isn't the job that makes life exciting but rather the reason for the job.
Love Mom by the beach
I'm new to your blog, but I love the sentiment here. You captured exactly what I love about my life and why it's important, even though it's hard and never ending.
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