SAHM

I just had a vent going on in my head and then I stopped and realized, "hey, I have a place for that now!"

Ann Romney posted the following on Facebook:

"I do recognize the most valuable work being done across the country is that work being done inside the four wall in our homes. And let us not forget how important the work of the mother and father are to raising responsible citizens."

I'm sure nobody would disagree with this statement.

Yet as I skimmed the replies to her post, I saw several comments branching off into how it must be nice to be rich and be able to be a stay at home mom.

This got brought up back when a guest on a news show claimed that Ann Romney had never worked a day in her life. In the backlash she received from that comment, this commentator - and others backing her - claimed she was really saying that stay-at-home moms have more money so they don't understand struggle.

Enter my vent.

I am a stay at home mom. We are NOT rolling in dough. We make SACRIFICES and we've had to learn the difference between a WANT and a NEED. I'm not complaining - we've been very blessed. But I do not like people insinuating that if you stay home with your kids you just don't know what it's like to struggle - financially or otherwise.

Staying home with my children wasn't the easy choice. We've had to give up a lot of things others consider necessities. I have a college degree. I could be working outside the home. But it's what we feel is best for our family. Being with my kids now - being "the hand that rules the world" - is the most important thing to me.

In my circle of friends, there are many stay-at-home-moms like me - people who sacrifice and work hard to make it financially feasible to be home with their children. Not many are well-to-do financially.

So, whether you like the politics of Ann Romney or not, please do not make the assumption that stay-at-home mom's are in a different socio-economic class than the "average" American. Yes, some mothers have no choice but to work outside the home - and I respect all the sacrifices they make too. But I believe many do have a choice - our society has just changed so as to make being a stay-at-home-mom a negative thing. Society convinces mothers that they don't have a choice because they "need" a lot of things that are actually "wants". Or that women are somehow lacking ambition if they stay home. These are false notions.

And even though the Romney's have had financial success, Ann obviously understands sacrifice and struggle - not only due to her fight with cancer and MS, but because as mother's we sacrifice more than just money to be home with our children. But we understand that our children are MORE than worth the struggle and sacrifice.