When word gets out that you are a stay-at-home mom suddenly your phone rings off the hook.
Everyone wants you to volunteer for something.
While volunteer work can be fulfilling it isn't all fun and games.
It adds tremendous pressure to your already full life.
That extra stress comes from knowing you're committed every week to be at a certain place for a specified number of hours.
And it means, while you're there, that your mind is full of the things waiting to be done at home.
The list is always too long and you wonder why you're spending so much time helping strangers in school when your family has needs at home...
like clean clothes, clean house, food.
Just because the family isn't physically at home during the day doesn't mean there's nothing that needs to be done for them.
How can the hamper be full? I just emptied it the day before yesterday! I only have two kids.
Do large families run the washing machine continuously? Someone in the family always needs something, even if it's just a listening ear.
All needs are just that, needs that must be met.
Mothers must also be a safety net--the person who bears the anger of frustrations and disappointments.
While this is one of my least favorite jobs, it is also one of the most important.
Of course you need to love yourself enough to understand the anger has nothing to do with you.
What a gift you give your children, allowing them to vent their anger with you.
Ah, just make sure they realize that anger is not about you.
They will understand it and thank you for it-when they get older.
Besides, the anger is always followed by smiles, hugs, and kisses.
And that's payment unmatched in other professions! The joys and rewards of parenting far outweigh the struggles.
If they didn't we wouldn't have the second or third child!