Dear Dr. Laura,
I had to step back when I heard the caller whose wife was feeling overwhelmed staying at home with their two children. I am a proud Navy wife who lives overseas and just gave birth to my fourth kiddo while my husband was deployed. I am NOT overwhelmed. I find nothing more enjoyable than being crazed with a newborn nursing, a toddler on one foot, an inquisitive seven year old on the other and a very girly girl five year old on my back. My house is the envy of every tornado and while I know I have clean socks somewhere, it may take a few hours to find them. But no, I am not overwhelmed.
My husband is gone months at a time and when he IS home usually gets home well after dinner time. I am not overwhelmed, and here's why: I have FUN with my kids. We play, we sleep in sleeping bags and have camp-ins, we finger paint, we have breakfast for dinner nights, we play like nothing else and once I found the secret to what a stay at home mom REALLY does, I was no longer overwhelmed. I think the caller's wife needs to go back to just having fun with her kids. I know my husband is THRILLED to come to a messy house with happy kids than a clean house with a stressed out, tense wife. I bet if she got a little crazy and enjoyed her two kids, she would lose the "being overwhelmed" and be more relaxed. (This benefits her husband, too, since the playing continues with the hubby once the kids are asleep!)
Thank you for all you do, even thousands of miles away I listen to you and nod my head often saying "Yep, she got it right."
A proud warrior-sailor's wife!
