I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) this year for the first time since I got married, and I am enjoying every second!!! I went to work from the day after sheva brachos until this year, taking off 6 weeks maternity leave when each of my kids were born. B”H I had a wonderful frum babysitter all the years for my babies and preschoolers after school, and was able to be home before my school aged kids got home from school. Despite this it was heart-wrenching, and the only thing that made it worth it for me was that I enabled my husband to learn in Kollel (and then work in chinuch). I often discussed with friends in a similar situation (i.e. husband is learning, we are not “being supported” by parents or the government but rather by us wives working) that when the seminaries discuss “mesiras nefesh for Torah” they should talk less about “histapkus bmuat” and the financial sacrifices, and more about the emotional difficulty of leaving your 6 week old baby with a babysitter!!!
Due to various factors I am finally at home with my kids this year (and hopefully next as well — and then we’ll see what happens. . .), and although somehow I am just as busy as I always was, it is such a great feeling to be there all the time for my kids and my home. Former co-workers and friends keep asking me if I’m “going crazy” yet! I really don’t feel any lack of intellectual stimulation at all, and what I am doing is so meaningful.