Why I am a "Stay at home Mom" (2nd post for today)

While conversing with a friend tonight about many things including homeschooling I was reminded of why I stay home with my children. When I was 7 years old my mom, (technically my step-mom, but only by a small technicality), was home wtih us that year. She was a very hard worker and was very involved in our lives, but also work most of the time she was married to my father. But 2nd grade was different. We had just moved to a tiny little farm town in western Oklahoma and she did not get a job. I came home from school one day, the house was clean, and peaceful, she was cooking dinner and finishing putting some clothes away in our room. I remember it vividly. I went outside to play and paused at the top of the steps that lead down to our driveway. I thought about how great it felt to have her home and decided right then and there I would stay home and raise my children when I became a mom. My husband and I were married for nearly 9 years when Natalie came along. In that time I finished college, had a career as a social worker and got my masters degree. I really enjoyed working and the work that I did. I always knew when the day came for us to have children I would, without hesitation, stay home and raise our children.

I'm so grateful that my mom worked so hard, often this was our households only steady source of income. I'm equally grateful that she stayed home most of my 2nd grade year. So I could see so clearly my future role with my children.