Braving Transition

How many people would take into question the hard work mothers put forth day in and day out? More than I thought there would be when I became a stay at home mother.  Last year I had someone close to me ask how things were going in my life.  I told her I was still at home with my daughter and doing a little photography and writing for my church newsletter.  She looked at me and simply said "That's it?" (with a tone that obviously had slight concern or disgust behind it).  Talk about a knife in the heart for all the hard work I thought I was doing RAISING A HUMAN BEING! What also struck me several hours later as I thought back to the brief encounter was, "Wait a minute! She was a stay at home mom 25 years ago!"  Yes, there are many people out there who believe that because you are a stay at home mom that you watch T.V. all day, get manicures regularly, spend hours at the spa, curl up and read a good book all day, etc. For the record- I have never had a manicure or been to a spa (honestly!) and I'd be lucky most days to get through one page of a book.  What is lost on them is that all day is like when I was a kid and my sister would poke at the air around me and say "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!".  You have someone at your feet all day and some days it's a miracle to actually get through a to-do list. I also understand that for most people, if you haven't experienced it you don't understand. Maybe there is part of her asking me "That's it?" that has stuck in my heart making me believe that if I don't do more than just be a mom my life will not be complete. Do I really want to believe that?