April 24, 2007 7:21 AM
Greetings from an Irish SAHM
I love how the Internet brings so close together those who would otherwise be worlds apart (or even locked in our laundry rooms next door):
Hi Barbara,I just wanted to take a few minutes to encourage you and thank you for the blessing you have been in my life through your books. God has spoken to me and blessed me so much as I read your books (The Mommy Manual and Lord Meet me in the laundry room).
I'm a 23 year old mum to my first baby Cian (an old Irish name meaning enduring) and we live in the capital city, Dublin, with my husband Martin. These days in Ireland, the trend is that all women must work rather than stay at home with their children. So most people have childminders/nannys or else send their children to daycare. Its a new trend as very few people my age were in daycare as children or babies. I personally feel this change is going to have terrible consequences for our society and a few Christian friends of mine who work in primary schools (I think you call them elementary schools!) can already notice a difference between kids with stay at home mums and working mums. Its ironic, a family may be rich with both parents working as doctors but the child could still be neglected. It's very sad.
Anyway, despite it being the social trend for mums to work outside the home and despite the many remarks I am sure to hear about "just being a mummy", I decided that there is simply no better investment of my time than to raise Cian and no doubt more brothers/sisters in a home where mum is always there... Many people (who have two family cars, eat take aways and expensive ready meals and go on two or three exotic sun holidays every year) will frustratingly remark how they would love to stay at home but they can't afford it!!! I'll never understand why they would want to trade these precious years with their little ones for a second car or exotic holiday....
Well, that's a taste of modern day Ireland, I had already decided to go against these trends and stay at home before I picked up your books but they really confirmed how worthwhile being a stay at home mummy is and I was filled with great joy and encouragement as I read through them. I even cried in the final pages of the Mommy Manual. Furthermore, God has also recently put it on my heart to start working part time at home, and as you spoke about going door to door advertising Mr. Trees with your boys in baby carriers and strollers in "Lord meet me in the laundry room" as well as your homeschooling/writing I was so encouraged to know that these dreams are indeed possible!
Barbara, I have been praying for you and I ask that God will continue to bless you and give you all the strength and encouragement you need for the new challenges which each day brings. May He bless your children, your children's children and their children's children.
Love,
Pip
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Comments
Barbara,
I was a daycare kid myself. I am probably one of the first of the wave of kids sent to "do their time" in the happy, sunny preschool room that many moms must have felt looked like a great place for their kids.
Having had that life experience, I knew without a doubt that my kids would not be going there. I have absolutely no sunny warm memories from my stay. I do have a few negative memories. That is one thing feminist never counted on, the fact that many day-care girls would grow up to be reactionary stay at home moms.
At a casual reunion of my old highschool friends, we got to talking about our own situations. Amazingly, those who had been placed in day care as kids were all SAHMs now and those who were at home with mom as little girls, now placed their children in daycare. That was in a group of about 12 ladies. It would be interesting to ask this question to a larger group of women wouldn't it?
Posted by: Kelly | April 25, 2007 3:45 PM
