Just say thank you...

I was thinking yesterday, as I went into my second hour of shampooing carpets that being a stay at home mom....or dad, is really one of those thankless jobs.

The stay at home parent does the majority of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and kid detail during the day. We wash cloths, fold them, put them up, do dishes, sweep the floors...on and on and on. Do we get a raise? Heck no, we don't even get a pay check. Not a monetary one at least.

We clean and cook, manage and analyze every single day. We don't get monthly performance reports and really it is a great day when some one says, without prompting, wow the house is really clean, or thank you for washing my clothes and noticing that stain and working to get it out.

I know all parents have these same things, but when one parent stays home really the majority falls on them. That's alot of majority when you really thing about it. It's a lot of responsibility, but we do it because we love.

That is the paycheck, making sure everything runs smoothly, helping our kids, taking care of our spouses...our family. But sometimes, it would be nice to be just given a vacation day so to speak. A nice day without any of that, but one where someone does fill in for you. Because with out a filler on the schedule, just like any job, all of it falls behind. Then it's not like a vacation day, it is like one of those very rare sick days, where you come back and have not just double the work, but sometimes triple....because there has been no complete picking up, nor any sweeping of the floors, or whatever.

Being a parent is a thankless job, however I know that as a SAHP I have much more on my plate, in my head, and to do every single day than what I ever had to do when I was actually working.

However unlike a regular job, we don't do the special things for recognition, or promotion we do them because we love. We try to take care of our families to our best ability. To comfort them, to care for them, to make sure they have everything they need to get through the day and come home to dinner together and a clean house to relax in.

There's a lot more that goes into being a SAHP than what goes into just going to work everyday. Look around and try to remember who dusted the mantle, or the pictures, or cleaned the windows, or made sure meals are prepared...whatever, and if the majority is falling to one person...make sure to tell them that you appreciate them, that you noticed...that is all the raise we need.