I
I
I
I
can
can
can
can
keep my family together.
love them.
be home.
be here.
home mama. I love knowing every little thing my
son learns or does during the day. I love getting
him up from his nap. I love wiping up the snot,
reading the books, and taking him on adventures
outside to dig through the leaves and point at
the birds. I can’t imagine giving that responsibility
to someone else. At the end of the day, even
the trying ones, I just know me. I know I couldn’t
leave him with anyone else.
I’ve been told before that I’m lucky to stay home,
but I hardly think that luck is the right word for
it. I believe that choosing to stay home and raise
your own children isn’t a decision that should
be driven solely by finances. We’ve “given up” a
lot of extras, as a trade for what I have gained
as being a mother to my son. I will gladly take
the days spent rinsing cloth diapers and building
block towers over having additional money to
spend on dinners out or cable television.
10
In a culture that doesn’t value family as a priority,
I find it even more important to embrace the
philosophy that mothers and babies are meant
to be together, not apart. It is a selfless sacrifice
that I would make time and time again for
him.I hope that someday he looks back on the
thousands of photos I have taken of him during
his early years and can feel the love. I hope that
someday he remembers a childhood full of
warmth and presence from his mother.