Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The whine of the stay-at-home mom is ear-piercing

Let me begin by telling you, I have total respect for your choice to stay at home and raise your own children. Nothing pisses me off quite like the breeders who pop them out left and right and expect day cares to raise them because they can't seem to prioritize their own children.  However, and here's where I expect to piss off at least half of the people I know, once you have made that choice, embrace it.  Don't bitch to me.  I've been in your shoes and loved every minute of it.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat if my old ass ovaries could cooperate. My house was always clean, laundry never piled up, I shopped on an as-needed basis instead of doing the mad Costco stock-up, I exercised regularly, cooked every night, and yes...was able to take my child out every day, whether to the park or for a walk, but always something.  I played with her, read to her, took way too many photos...and now you are wondering, is Wonder Woman typing this?  No, just someone who embraced her decision.
All too often I hear griping and moaning from women who have made the same choice I did years ago.  "My laundry is piled up to the ceiling", "I have to run to the market, Target, pharmacy...again!", "If I have to vacuum this house one more time, I'll pull all my hair out", "How can my husband possibly expect a clean house when I have to take care of this needy, screaming child?"  What the fuck?  It's not that hard.  You used to work once.  You knew how to manage your time. You had deadlines. What happened?  Days didn't get shorter since childbirth.  Babies nap, kids play.  Plan your freaking day accordingly.  Don't tell me you don't have enough time.  I will not listen when you tell me that your day is far too hectic and you couldn't possibly get it all done.  Bullshit. The time you spend on Facebook, You Tube, and playing Farmville, Wheel of Fortune, Texas Hold 'Em, watching soap operas, and fuck knows what else is wasted!  The clock does not stand still when you decide you NEED to check your email one more time or check your farm. This is not to say you don't deserve breaks.  We all do, but a break is a limited amount of time, not the entire day.
I went back to work when my daughter was four and none of my responsibilities went away.  I still do the lion's share of the cooking and all of the cleaning. My time IS limited. My days did get shorter with respect to the amount of time I have to accomplish all the same tasks you do.  I made a choice, too.  A choice to be productive outside the house as well as inside.  I'm not gloating or waving my employed flag in your face.  I'm simply saying that what you claim to be impossible, as you sit in your sweats, hair up in a ponytail, face devoid of makeup, glued to your laptop screen, telling the world how hard you have it through your Facebook statuses...may actually be offensive to those of us who have been in your shoes and know that it ain't rocket science.
While I advocate keeping it real, and leaving the sugar-coating off...bitching about your lot in life, while some people only dream of being able to stay home with their kids, but financially cannot do it...pushes even me over the edge.
The next time you post a status on Facebook bemoaning your housework, and I know for a fact you have all goddamn day long to do it...expect my comment to be, "Are you friggin kidding me right now???"


2 comments:

  1. OMG I love it! SO TRUE! I work full time and my daughter has been in daycare since she's four months old - i go home, make dinner, do laundry, give her a bath, clean the dishes, iron my clothes for work the next day, work out and put my daughter to sleep. I dont get to sit down til 10 pm and even then i just pass out. But i don't complain about it. hearing these stay at home moms complain makes me nuts! I would have a gourmet meal on the table every night and the house would be spotless if i stayed home!

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