Hi Dr. Laura,
I've got a 2 1/2-year-old and a 7-month-old. It's quite a handful managing them both and I rarely get a break to get out and do something by myself. Lately I've started to feel a bit depressed. The monotony of the continuous housework really got to me: endless laundry, dishes, meals, trips to the same parks and places every week. My infant also cries in the car regularly, and my toddler of course, tests every limit relentlessly. I started to wonder if I was really cut out for being a stay-at-home mom, because I could not really find joy in it anymore. I felt that nothing in my life was mine. No part of my day was something I wanted to do. It was just chores, tantrums, and crying. I started thinking seriously about going back to work. I knew I needed to hear your advice, since listening to your show is what made me want to be a SAHM in the first place. So I purchased and read "
In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms". Your book saved me from continuing to be the spoiled brat I knew I was being but didn't know how to change.
Life is all about perspective, and those two girls I love so much depend on ME and need ME. I brought them here because I wanted them. Life isn't about ME anymore... It's about THEM. The part of my day that is for me is in giving them an amazing childhood they can cherish their whole lives. And in loving and supporting them so I can see those happy smiles and bubbly giggles. Yes, the chores are endless, but now when I do them, I think about how I'm making the home a lovely place for my husband and children and that motivates me to keep doing them. It was relieving to hear you talk so much about how intelligent, and educated women are NOT wasting their lives by staying home with their children. I think society had brainwashed me.
Thank you for giving me the inspiration I needed to be my husband's girlfriend and my kid's mom.
Sincerely,
Allison
