Stay at Home Moms Are Lazy



My little boy who keeps me busy.

 Did that get your attention?
I know it got mine.  The other day I overheard a panel of working moms discussing why they thought stay at home moms were lazy.  I was flipping channels looking for PBS for the kids.  In their minds, the stay at home mom had less work to do.  It made me chuckle, then laugh out loud, then almost fall on the floor while holding my shaking, "saggy after three babies in a row" belly.

I am a stay at home mom who has to wholeheartedly disagree.    Both working and staying at home moms can be lazy or hard working.  You have to decide how to use your time as a mom.

I have been both a working mom and stay at home mom.  Both are tough. Both are harder than the average human woman can handle.  Both have pressures and stress that can drive you insane.

Being a stay at home mom, I will say that I seldom get to sit down in my day.  Writing on my blog is my only self indulgent activity, and I do not keep up with it like I would enjoy.    What keeps me so busy?  Well for starters, after waking up four to five times a night (6-7 hours in bed max) to take care of kids during the night, I hit the floor running.  I cook breakfast for the family, clean up their mess, brush teeth, brush hair, put on 10 socks on 10 feet with 10 shoes.  Dress everyone.  Play.  Teach.  Do loads of laundry.   Meal plan healthy kid friendly meals.  Buy groceries at five different stores to find the cheapest deal.  Budget carefully.  Grow a garden and can fruits and veggies.  Cook lunch and dinner every day.  Run errands.  Go the doctor's appointments. Pick up toys.  Read books.  Model servanthood through community service. Wash a load of dishes a day at least.  Sweep and mop the floor a couple times a day (having a baby is messy folks).  Change diapers.   Take stinky trash outside. Give the kids a bath.  And the list goes on. 

However, this is NOT what I consider important.
The job that keeps me most busy and the one those working moms might have forgotten is the full time job of guarding my children's hearts.

My most important mission each day is standing guard against pride, selfishness, greed, anger, self-pity, fear, permissiveness, laziness, self entitlement, and other enemies of my children's hearts.  As I make sure that I am staying close to my Father in Heaven,  He guides me and strengthens me be the parent I need to be for my kids.  My day then is filled with redirection, loving discipline, and encouraging words as I keep tight watch over my kids' hearts.

I start with modeling respect and love and EXPECTING it back in return.  I keep my ears tuned in to every word out of my children's mouths while looking for opportunities to teach, praise, and discipline.  I watch their actions while deciphering their motives and intentions. I try to head off fights and arguments by sensing when my children switch into selfish mode and pull them to the side to check  their hearts.   I create opportunities for them to serve each other and the family.  I foster intentional team work and relationship building.  I show my children the need for a Savior at each time of discipline by talking to them about their sinful hearts.

That my "Dr. Phil friends" keeps me busy.  Each night when I finally lay my head on the pillow, my body aches with the day's work, but I know it was a day well spent on my home, my children, and the Kingdom.

Lazy....No way. Not even a little.