In my last post, I hinted at the feelings of self-worth I have been struggling with as a stay at home wife/homemaker, but I didn’t really delve into the topic too deeply because I wasn’t certain about how I wanted to approach it.  In general I have a problem with the term “working mom” as compared to a stay at home mom.  The reason being, I think the term “working mom” sends the message that stay at home moms don’t work.  It is especially important to be careful when using these terms around children.  I think when it comes to our kids we need to be super careful about the messages we’re sending them consciously or subconsciously.

My mom was a stay at home mom for most of my youth, in fact because the Island we lived on lacked good schools, she even home schooled my brothers and I up until high school.  Let me tell you, I know we were a huge handful, and home schooling us must have been a huge challenge for her.  She really did make the ultimate sacrifice for us.  However when I was younger I can remember over hearing conversations between my parents where my dad would saying something like, “well I have to work” and I can remember how upset this made my mom and how my dad would quickly try to rectify the situation, but I think on some subconscious level these snip-its even though they were immediately retracted sent me the message that the work of being a stay at home mom wasn’t as valued or recognized as the work one does outside the home.  So I have long since struggled against the idea of being a domesticated house wife.  Yet, the rational side of my brain knows full well that there is tremendous value in being a stay at home mom.  The challenge is redefining that role and perhaps my own perceptions of it and making it into something that I feel just as proud to display (if I end up assuming this role) as I would being a top CEO.

This blog post by my amazing cousin, couldn’t sum up my own feelings better.

What are your thoughts?