After leaving my husband and daughter home for the weekend, I was not surprised when I returned home to find he hadn't yet brushed his teeth or showered that day (it was 2 pm).
The house was surprisingly in pretty good order, yes there was a pile of unfolded laundry on the couch but hey, the clothes had found their way into the washer AND the dryer so I was pretty impressed! My husband commented on how he doesn't know how I get out of the house on a daily basis, let alone work out, take our daughter to music or swim class or maybe even the park, go to the grocery store, shower AND cook dinner. I chuckled a bit knowing all too well what a good thing it can be to leave him to his own devices every once and awhile.
As my Mom would say, when your husband watches your children it is not BABYSITTING....it's PARENTING.
TRUE DAT.
He (admittedly) could not do what I do every day. I (admittedly) could not do what he does every day.
His job requires travel, lots of it, several places in a day, crossing the country over the course of a week. A Million Miler on Delta (that in and of itself is crazy considering he still in his 30's), more miles logged on an airplane than he would ever care to count, than I would ever care to travel. Long days at the office, really long days. I used to think working anything over 9 hours was going to be the death of me but he works 10, 12, 14 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY...and then often stays up late working even more once he gets home. Late nights and weekends, he is never unavailable to his clients or co-workers. The only time I have ever seen him actually peel away from work was on our honeymoon and even then, he had to take a few conference calls here and there.
But he is good at what he does, REALLY good. And he loves what he does, he would have to in order to keep this kind of schedule. He doesn't get to see our daughter as much as he would love to but he knows the time he spends with her is that much more important, that much more gratifying. Likewise, if I was a working Mom, I have no doubt I would be a hot mess. A stress-case. Not able to give the best of myself to our girl or my job.
NO. I could never do what he does.
He says he admires and respects what I do as SAHM....what I think he means is he would NEVER want to do this job. I tell him I admire him and respect what he does....what I know I mean is that there is NO WAY IN HELL I would EVER want to do what he does.
Lucky for me, my husband gets it. Lucky for my husband, I get it. Lucky for our little lady, she gets the best of it....the best of us.
Awwww!!!! And so true! I love reading your blogs Meg! Each one is so relatable!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah! You are always so supportive, much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteIt's always difficult for me to comment cause I usually have tears in my eyes, just thinking of who you are and who you have become. This one touched me cause I also made that choice to quit my job with Social Security and stay home. We made a whole lot less money but we had enough and I wouldn't trade those days for anything. I fully realize not everyone is in that position and not everyone can be a stay at home mom and that's ok too..keep the blogs coming!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks Mom :). I realize so much of who I have become is because of the sacrifices you made; most days it doesn't feel like I am sacrificing anything, feels like I am gaining everything!
DeleteI am so proud to be aunt to such a special person...and proud to have Kevin as part of our extended family....he is definitely a "keeper"
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