Being a stay at home mom (sahm) in 2012

Since January 1st of this year, I have gotten the luxury of having the official job title of "homemaker" and very part-time nanny (usually 5-10 hours a week). I have recently been contemplating about how long can I do this “job” well. Being a self motivated pregnant mom at home with a 2 year old has plenty of challenges. Not to mention in today’s culture it is the social norm to drive 2 nice cars, cover the mortgage plus all other accompanying bills, and still have money to spend as you desire year-round. It is no wonder that 2 parents working has become expected. How else could you possibly ‘keep up” without marrying a doctor. On that note, this week I had an OB appointment, and the physician I saw who was an older man said “your medical chart is pretty boring, so tell me about yourself”. I took full advantage of talking with another adult and shared about being an at home mom. His response surprised me. First he said, I have a daughter who is also 24 but is in grad school. She will probably be like most of my patients who come in here in their mid thirties, fully engrossed in their careers and have a “difficult pregnancy” then she will have a hard time juggling that career with being a mom and having a healthy marriage. I said well at least she will be finically stable. He nodded his head but replied, my biggest regret in life was missing so much time my children because I ran a successful practice. I left feeling very encouraged that although I do not get a pay check every week, I get the privilege of time with Madalyn while she is young. Something I can never go back and get.