A courageous occupation

My dreams are often fairly mundane, most of them unmemorable. Maybe it's my analytical mind. Maybe it's that I'm so tired lately that I just don't remember.

This dream was different.

In it, I was talking to someone about the main attraction of my life right now. They inquired about my adjustment to parenthood and my plans for returning to work. In the dream, I told them I had decided to stay home with Gideon. Their response is what stuck with me: "How did you come to such a courageous decision?"

As I was running a couple of days later and this dream came to mind, I thought about that question. Courage? This word baffled me when related to being a stay at home mom.

Growing up, I thought that staying home with your children is the easy road. If you really have grit, I thought, you will work outside of the home and be a mom. I'm a pretty independent, determined woman, and I always thought that if I stayed home with my children, I would be wimping out.

I never would of thought of myself as courageous for staying at home with my little man.

During that run, I realized a few things:

It takes courage to be alone all day with an infant (or toddler or older child), and then to at least help care for that child through the evening and night.

It takes courage to have no idea what you are doing, figure it out (sort of), rinse and repeat. Day. After. Day.

It takes courage to trust in the Lord that He will guide you as you fumble through this job called motherhood.

It takes courage to give up what you could have been, at least for a portion of your life.

It takes courage to face the isolation that comes from only being around little people most of the time.

It takes courage (and patience) to emulate the example for your children that you want to set 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sometimes that means demonstrating how to ask for forgiveness.

Not to say that working outside of the home and being a parent isn't courageous. I know it is. And I have great friends who do both, and I salute them for that.

But I need to stop selling myself short and give myself a little credit for all that I do as a stay at home momma. And to all you other stay at home parents: You are courageous. You are fierce. Your efforts will not be in vain.

Oh, and by the way, Happy Independence Day, everyone!