For young Mormon women, who face immense cultural pressure to stay home with children rather than pursue a career, blogging about their adventures in homemaking becomes a sort of creative outlet, a way of contributing to the larger world beyond the home.
-Emily Henderson
-Emily Henderson
I started thinking about why I stay home with my kids. Do I do it because I feel like others will look down on me if I don't? Do I do it because I don' want a "real" job? Do I do it because I feel pressure to do it?
While I don't debate the idea that there is a lot of "cultural pressure" to be a stay-at-home mom, I have to say "pressure" isn't the reason I choose it.
I choose to be home with my kids because when I have thought about all the other things I could do (and I think about things a lot) I always come back to the fact that my kids need me.
They need me to make them breakfast. They need me to take them to swimming lessons. They need me to help them get bathed and dressed. They need me to read books to them. They need me to teach them to eat healthy things. They need me to teach them to be kind. They need me to give them some consistency in their lives.
While I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are a better mother than I am, I can't get over the fact that these kids have been entrusted to ME. I'm their mommy. I have a love for them that no one else could duplicate. I can't even duplicate it for other people's kids (though I feel a little embarrassed to admit that).
Really, when I think deeply about it, I realize I need them. They teach me things I would struggle to learn without them. I learn things that help me to be more like my Savior Jesus Christ.
