I'm Spoiled...

I woke up yesterday morning with both anticipation and hesitation. I began my day like everyday, waking up at 5:45 to walk for an hour. I left the house, crossed the street, walked down the sidewalk about 100 feet, and then the rain began. It got heavier and heavier, enough for me to turn around and go back home. At 7:00 I got the boys up and got them ready. Adam was at school by 8:15. Then Matt and I took some pictures (see earlier post) of his first day. I took Matt to school, ran errands while he was there, and then picked him up at 11:30. Between 11:30 and 1:30, I had a bunch to do. I fixed lunch for Matt, Robert and I. Robert got his bag packed. He left for Manhattan "the little apple" Kansas on a work trip and will be gone 'til Sunday. Matt and I then picked Adam up at 1:30 to drive down to Liberal (70 miles south) for an appt. with his OCD doctor. I initially thought the day was going to be a bit hectic, but amazingly everything went smoothly. After the appt. we played at a park and got ice cream before driving back to Garden City. While cruising along, I started thinking that I'm spoiled being a stay-at-home mom. There are tons of things I get to do that working moms don't. When I took Matt to school, all (and I mean all) of the other children just ran right into the room and didn't worry a bit about where their moms were. Matt was only one that was nervous to be there. This same thing happened when Adam started preschool. And I think it's because all the other moms work and the other kids have been in daycare. I'm thankful that I don't have a job and that I could stay as long as needed with Matt yesterday. And that I can pick him up everyday and not the babysitter. I am thankful, too, that I can use the entire afternoon to take my son to the doctor and not have to worry about using my vacation/sick time. I love living across the street from Adam's school and being able to stand on my front porch and watch him play at recess. Or have the time to walk him to school and then take extra time walking home so Matt can jump at all the low-hanging tree branches to try to get leaves. These are all things I wouldn't be able to do if I had to work and not stay home with my boys. Granted, staying at home has not always been a picnic. There's definitely been sacrifices we've had to make--like cutting our income in half when Adam was born and not being able to buy a house until we'd been married for over 10 years. There have been many days when I've felt isolated and lonely but the blessings of staying home have definitely outweighed the sacrifices.