Regardless of what outsiders think of a household where one parent stays home with the kids, sacrifices are made. Some working moms seem to think at-home moms don't do anything, the kids are coddled, and we can afford to go on a shopping spree at the drop of a hat. That may be the case for some, but definitely not all. I'm not part of that elite group of at-home mommies...we do struggle.
Granted, Babe makes good money but our lifestyle demands we spend wisely and when we don't, things can get a little crazy. Sometimes we go without the little things - my $3 multigrain bread, I drive my car less, I bake our sweets instead buying pre-packaged - and sometimes we go without big things, which I honestly don't want to get into. But when the going gets tough I work hard at keeping the connection strong between me and Babe. After years of flipping out on him, acting like a 2 year old with my tantrums, I'm learning how to react in situations that leave us waiting for his paycheck to be deposited into our account.
Before just this year when things got really bad I would allow my mind to wander to "just how much of this will I tolerate"? Yeah, that was me. Funny thing is WE signed up for our lifestyle and to be in it together. Marriage vows aside, this is OUR life and OUR situation - be it good or bad. When things are good I'm happy, thrilled. And back then when things were bad I was just a mess. That's no way to live when your husband is the bread-winner and is paid based on commission. He deserves a better support system, a better wife.
So when I decided that WE are in this TOGETHER my mindset changed. Not only did I have God to turn to, but I had Babe to go to with my concerns to be sure we were on the same page. When I stressed myself out it would only occur to me later that he probably isn't happy about the situation either! Well, DUH! Now I try not to get consumed with what we don't have and focus wholeheartedly on what we do have.
We have the necessities, a lot of our wants and, praise God, we have each other.
4 comments:
You have hit bulls eye!! Wish you the best in your marriage.
Apparently I'm a very slow learner, but so glad to have finally GOTTEN it!! Thanks for reading :)
Very good insight, Nat, and something we should all keep in mind when home life is getting too crazy.
What great things to remember. I often lose sight of the big picture and think too much about the things we DON'T have.
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