Stay at Home Mom

I know there are a bunch of blog posts that have been passed around recently talking about stay at home moms. This one comes to mind right away. It's so so good. And I am by no means as good a writer as Matt Walsh is, or others. I don't expect many people to read this, and this isn't going to be a rant or venting session. I just got thinking the other day that being called a stay at home mom sounds lazy.

Think about it....you stay at home when you are sick, or skipping work or class (although that could happen for other reasons as well). I think when you hear someone say they stayed at home, it somehow implies laziness.

Person 1: What did you do today?

Person 2: Well, I stayed home all day.

I don't stay at home. I work at home. And I don't need to go through the laundry list (pun intended) of things I do all day. I'm not staying anywhere. Ha! I am constantly on the move. I kind of want one of those pedometer things just to see how many miles I'm walking in my house over the course of a day. And I'm not wanting get into a whole debate about the worth of being a "stay at home mom" but no one would question me if I said I work from home.

I'm not one to get on a soap box about stuff or get preachy, this literally just came to me the other day as I was sitting nursing. The one time of day I do "stay". :) My mom would tell people she was a homemaker. And even though the term kind of sounds funny, I do sort of like it better. When filling out those forms at the doctor's office, where it says "occupation", I always write Stay At Home Mom and cringe a little. Not because I dislike staying at home with my children, but because, as I said, it sounds lazy. And maybe because I am aware of the stigma and flack that stay at home mom's get.

From now on I just might start writing, "homemaker" instead. Because, honestly that's what I do. I make this house a home. In so many small ways, from the diaper changing, to the cleaning and cooking, and warm touches I try to create in the way I deocrate, and let's not forget all the playing and dancing too...they all come together to make this place we call home. It is an art, it is a gift of our feminine genius, and I am blessed to call it my life.