In case you missed part 1, I wrote about "me as a working mom".
Me as a stay at home mom:
It may seem weird, but during the course of my son's life I don't think I have ever spent 5 whole days in row, at home, with nothing else on my mind, except for "what will I do next". Even though I was at home sick, I got up every morning once my son left for school to clean the house. I ate breakfast in silence and took my time getting ready for the day. One day I walked to pick up babe from school and another day I drove and we decided to go to the park. Except I'm not familiar with his "favorite" park, so when I went to one, he INSISTED I go to another by "making a left at the corner". It was a little frustrating but I decided I had no other plans so I would try to find the park he was referring to.
During that week we did the following:
went to the park. went to the library. ate lunches and dinners together, at decent times, without any hassle. read everyday. worked on homework. I made a skirt. watched some DVR and didn't think about work.... not once. Babe seemed to listen more the first time and I didn't get as frustrated with him for taking SO long to decide when he was ready to take a bath.
So before I say what might be obvious, I want to make it very clear that I am super thankful for my job. I am thankful that I have a career that I am good at, and able to support my family with. My conclusion has nothing to do with my actual job itself (no matter how stressful) but more with my feelings about being a "working" mom and a "stay at home" mom.
So do I think the grass is greener on the other side?... In my personal opinion, I'm going to say Yes. No matter how great my job is, it absolutely does not compare to the thousands of moments I have already missed with my son. I can't get back those baby years, the most important learning and growing years before school. I would trade in the past 4 years as a working mom to be a stay at home mom in a heartbeat.
I know stay at home moms who would love to get away from their kids for a bit or are so stressed out from all the responsibilities that come with being a mom, trust me, I'm a mom, I know. So imagine that... PLUS all the extra added stress of a demanding 40 hour a week job. If my only worries during the day were those revolving around babe, I would be living a much happier life.
