I’m an accidental stay-at-home mom, and I want to hear your success stories
I think I’m going to be an accidental stay at home mom! I would really like to hear any tips from offbeat stay at home parents about making it through the day without losing your (highly educated, formerly highly valued) mind. Most of what I seem to be able to find online doesn’t resonate with me as full time parenting isn’t necessarily my calling. I’m struggling with the monotony of cooking, cleaning, crafts, walks, library etc, and I’ve only been at it for four months!
We need to quit telling lies on Facebook
Not to be outdone, I uploaded our new pictures. “Sunny Saturday!” I wrote in the status. I’m not a total liar. I’m just good at PR. Time passed — five minutes? An hour? When you’re blissfully ignoring your kids, the seconds slip by far too quickly.
My husband and I are big-time introverts: will having kids and losing our personal space be crazy for us?
I fear that the lack of privacy, personal space, quiet and time for us to recharge, could bring out a bad side of us and we’d slowly slide the horrible steep slope in becoming horrible parents that scar their children for life.
The inherent privilege of being a “slacker” mum
Michelle, the blogger at Crooked Fences recently spent some time pondering the idea of a “slacker” parent — in her definition, this is akin to free-range parenting. She observed that many parents espousing free-range ideas also tend to be white and middle-to-upper class… and that this is a problem.
Connecting as a community over pie
I watched my neighbors connect. It’s something I don’t think we get the chance to do that often anymore. During this age of social media, many of us spend more time updating statuses or tweeting than we do sitting down and having a conversation. Even better, a conversation over a slice of pie. There is something inherently neighborly and folksy about ruminating over pie.
How did having children change your career path?
I am coming to the end of my maternity leave with no job to return to, as I was in a contract position that is now over. Realizing that childcare is expensive, we need more income to survive, and that the economy sucks and doesn’t support my chosen field of expertise, I am examining new options.
How beating up a sack of potatoes helped me deal with my father’s illness
My mom spoke in a tight, scared voice as she told me Papa was being airlifted from their small town to the capital city where I lived. His heart condition had triggered acute kidney failure and he was in and out of consciousness, rapidly sliding closer to death. I said yes and hung up in a daze.
The bright side to a “broken” home
As co-parents we have established a new type of relationship between us and the boys have settled into their schedules. Both of us are now in committed relationships, so new parental figures and extended families have been added to the mix. While we don’t aim to all vacation together or live next door to each other, we can truthfully attest to life and happiness as amicable dual households. Even still, we hit rough patches. It’s hard not to blame every temper tantrum on the transitioning between places or question if your kids are somewhat permanently scarred.