Three Secrets for Thriving as a Stay at Home Mom
\”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.\”
When it comes to the way of life that most stay at home moms experience, the opening words of the classic novel Tale of Two Cities describe it best.
Getting to stay home with your babies and soak up every minute of their childhood is the thrill of a lifetime. Getting to mold the foundation of their lives is an incredibly part of the humans they grow up to be. Having a dedicated parent to provide the meal preparation, childcare services, transportation needs, and dependable house cleaning for a household is often the single factor that makes a family successful.
However, being a stay at home mom has its own set of challenges. Spending the entire day with small children and no opportunity for adult interaction can make a mom feel isolated and lonely. Sometimes desperately lonely. Walking away from a career that might have provided a sense of satisfaction makes a mom feel like she\’s wasting the best years of her life. Spending the whole day cleaning, cooking, and putting out fires, only to look around and see a messy house, hungry children, and new fires sparking can make a person feel crazy. And then there\’s the guilt. Having the \”luxury\” of not working a full-time job makes many moms feel like they don\’t deserve to be tired and overwhelmed, and that they have no excuse for any shortcomings. As the opening lines in our article suggest, it is the best of times, and the worst of times, at the same time.
If we just described your very existence, we feel ya girlfriend. It\’s not an easy life. However, making sure you take care of yourself makes it a lot easier. Make yourself a priority, and everything else becomes more manageable. To help you out, we put together a few ideas for making your life as a stay at home mom the best of times and the best-er of times:
- Make friends with other moms who know the struggle.
Isolation really kills the spirit of a stay at home mom, especially if she doesn\’t have other friends in her walk of life. Making friends with other moms who also wake up 10 times every night, who always have food stains on their shirt, and who know the pain of stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night builds camaraderie and improves the mindset of a struggling mom. Joining mommy groups on social media and attending mom meetups are great ways to make friends with other moms who know the struggle. - Outsource your dependable house cleaning from time to time.
We know, living on a single income makes \”extras\” like hiring a maid service feel impossible. However, the benefits of hiring a maid really make the cost worth every penny. Sometimes just chasing after your kids all day takes up every moment of your free time; there just isn\’t enough minutes in the day to provide dependable house cleaning for yourself. Springing for same-day maid services every once in a while for a deep down dependable house cleaning is like hitting the reset button, and giving you the chance to clear your mind and improve your outlook. - Don\’t neglect the girl you were before you were called \”mom.\”
Yes, your existence revolves around those tiny dictators who call you \”mom,\” but try to carve out time to do things you loved before you had kids. Exercise, eat well, drink lots of water and take care of your health. Give yourself a glass of wine at night. Get a babysitter and do something that isn\’t child-geared from time to time. Put makeup on, get your nails done, and feel pretty. When you feel good, you\’re empowered to a better mom.
Having the opportunity to stay home with your kids is an incredible chance for yourself, your kids, and society as a whole. However, sometimes being a full-time mom is not a walk in the park. Having friends who understand, someone to help clean the house, and time for yourself is the best way to survive.