Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Living the Dream



For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed about becoming a stay-at-home Mommy. While I was working and pregnant, I couldn't wait to hand in my resignation, knowing that I would have 5-7 precious years to be at home, raising our children. Visions of a spotless home, delightfully decadent meals prepared from scratch, and not having to get dressed up/made up for work filled my head. Now I am "living the dream" and oh, what a dream it was!

Don't get me wrong, the Mommy part, I LOVE! Our daughter, almost a year old now, is beautiful, brilliant, and so much fun to be around. I could go on for days about how wonderful she is and how lucky I am to be her Mommy. It's the "stay-at-home" part that occasionally (read: frequently) makes me loopy.

Cleaning the house has gone from a weekend morning chore to a constant battle. Being at home all day means more dirt, more dishes, more bathroom use, more pet hair, more spills, and PLENTY more time to notice all of these things and be driven crazy by them.

And instead of delighting in the fact that I don't have to get ready for work every morning, I find myself staring longingly into my closet full of fun and pretty clothes and knowing that the Sweet Pea will not fully appreciate them. They are cute clothes and need to get out and see the world so I am the over-dressed Mommy at Storytime and the fashionista of Wal-Mart (not a difficult feat to accomplish there). Plus, it only took me about two months of walking past mirrors in our house to realize that make-up and "done" hair do not have to be reserved for others. They are just as much for me as for anyone else. Maybe June Cleaver had the right idea after all. Those A-line belted dresses and pearls were not her prison suit, they were her golden lasso and bullet-proof bracelets!

Chatting with neighbors and random people in stores was once something I rarely felt I had time for. Now, I crave conversation with anyone, ANYONE, so much that all of the cashiers know everything there is to know about our daughter and I know entirely too much about their personal lives.

I have made countless unnecessary trips (if sanity is unnecessary) to Targee`, the mall, and any store that has a clearance rack just to get out of the house. Don't worry, we also take plenty of walks, trips to the park, and of course Storytime. Storytime at the public library (can you hear the heavenly choir of angels?)! Sure the babies love it - musical enrichment, early literacy, blah, blah, blah, but it is the Mommies who get the most out of it. See future post dedicated entirely to Storytime.

So, after all of those years dreaming of being a stay-at-home Mommy I am now a staunch, but happy, stay-away-from-home Mommy. Gotta run, Targee` is calling!

1 comment:

  1. Love it! Target was my favorite place ever during maternity leave.

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