Stay-at-Home Mom vs Working Mom

I turned on my television the other day and what did I see - another talk show with women fighting with other women. Why does this debate need to be rehashed over and over again? Why are women fighting with other women about whether or not to stay home with your children or go to work? Why can't it just be a woman's choice and leave it at that?

When my son was born in 2002, I was conflicted as to what I was going to do. Go back to work or stay home with my child? Well, I loved this little baby like I loved nothing else in my whole life. I know all mothers feel that way. Our family, however, was scraping by as it was. Don't get me wrong, my husband makes a great living, but if we ever want to be able to eat more than Beanie Weenies and Hamburger Helper, we were going to have to come up with a second source of income.

Like most mothers I struggled over whether to go back to work full-time, part-time or not at all. In the end, my husband and I made the decision that I would stay home, at least for a while. After my son was a few months old, my old boss called and offered me the opportunity that not many people get. I could stay home with my child and work a couple hours a day from home. I was elated. I made the choice to stay home.

Every choice has a price. Do I feel lucky to be able to stay home with my children? Sure, I feel lucky every day. There are things about staying home that one needs to know.

First, I feel isolated on a weekly basis. Forget postpartum depression, I had full on depression. I was isolated from adult contact to the point where I was just about saying goo-goo, ga-ga every time my husband walked in the door from work. Even though I work from home, I get very little contact with the outside world besides email and the occasional work phone calls I get on a daily basis. I have friends, but most of my friends are working mothers. They have jobs that they work full time and after work, we might have a quick conversation, but they are ready to get home to their own families. All stay at home mothers have to find a way to make time for themselves, find friends in the area that have similar situations and balance their lives to keep from going crazy.