A recent caller reminded me of a time when my wife and I had to reverse roles for a while. I was between jobs. Money was tight. So, my wife found a manual labor job for a little more than minimum wage. For several weeks, I was “Mr. Mom.” Our kids were three and one.
I had always believed and said that she had the harder job as a stay-at-home parent, BUT until I actually did it myself for a few weeks, I had no idea what I was talking about. There was no sitting around and watching TV. Every day was full of cleaning, cooking, shopping, daddying and chauffeuring (my wife doesn’t drive). We managed, but I was never so glad as when I found a job that paid more than my wife’s so I could justify being JUST the breadwinner, because being JUST the homemaker was the hardest work I’d ever done. It was the most rewarding work I’ve ever done, but also the hardest.
My appreciation for what my wife did as the stay-at-home parent grew exponentially in that time, and I never again wondered what she had done all day. I knew that sometimes just keeping everyone alive another day was good enough!
Randy
The Hardest Work I've Ever Done
