Dear Dr. Laura –

I thought of you at 11pm last night as I was holding my 18-month-old daughter.  We were both covered in her dinner, and it made me smile. She had already thrown up once and this would be the second round of clean-up in a one-hour period. I wasn’t stressed; I was calm and could actually find humor in what we must’ve looked like standing in the hallway.  I could take the time to soothe and comfort her; she just wanted her momma to hold her.

Because of you I am my kid’s mom. I didn’t have to wake up early to rush her off to day care so that I could rush off to work. I get asked on a fairly regular basis if I am ready to go back to work, yet I wonder when did raising a human being become a vacation? Or I get asked when am I going to start her in pre-school so she can start "learning"? I just smile and say my husband and I are teaching her everything she needs to know right now. We are teaching her that she is our priority; and we love her, and each other, very much. I am here every day to RAISE our daughter.  I get to witness every temper tantrum and stay up late to clean-up vomit, but I also get every kiss, hug, and I am here to make her "boo-boos" all better. When she calls out for "momma" I know she's calling for me, not a nanny, babysitter or day care worker, she wants ME and there is no other place I’d rather be.

Keep up the amazing work you do by preaching, teaching and nagging!

Sincerely,

Marcelle

P.S. Thank you so much for writing "In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms"!