Just a Stay at Home Mum

I met a man the other day. Now don't get too excited guys, I was totally unimpressed by his "charm". We were in the middle of a 'getting to know you' conversation, when he asked what I do with my days, and for fun. I had already told him that I don't work, and I am about to start studying, so I proceeded to tell him how my days are filled with entertaining my 21 month old. This includes trips to the playground, play cafes, afternoons on the floor playing with the cars and trains, you know, everything us Mums do to spend time with and keep our kids happy.

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The response I got completely took me by surprise. "I wish my life was that easy, and all I had to do was go to playgrounds and play with cars and trains all day". OK Chrissie, breathe. This is a man with no children, he must not realise that there is actually a lot more to our days than simply playing. 


At this point I had no interest in getting to know this man any further, so rattled off a few of the not so pleasant things that we Mums deal with daily. You know; tantrums, tears, snotty noses, constant demand for attention and entertainment, and forever cleaning up after a tornado. These are all things we Mums do daily, without complaint (most of the time). Again, the response surprised me. "Oh I know all about that. I babysit my sisters kids sometimes". 

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OK, so I give him brownie points for trying to make it sound like he understands, but seriously, not the same. When you give them back after a couple of hours, you really can't understand what its like to play Mummy 24/7. 

So my question is, did I overreact? I wasn't rude, as such. However shortly after that conversation ended I walked away. I feel that although I am "just a stay at home Mum", as some people put it, we still work hard. We have a house to look after, kids to look after, ourselves and usually other adults to look after. I love my Munchkin more than anything in the world, and take all the hard stuff with the good. I am not saying that I want a medal (although that would be kinda nice!) but a little recognition that it's not such an easy job after all isn't too much to ask for, is it?

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Linking up with Twinkle in the Eye for Flash Blog Friday!