Was your mother a SAHM?

[hisno1girl]

I stole this from MM.

My mother was SAHM until my younger sister turned 13 and then she decided she wanted to work part time.

[tigress]

Nope. My mom was a nursing instructor and mostly worked part time when we were kiddos. It was good.

[EmilieMadison]

Yes. My mom and dad were both teachers, so having 5 kids in daycare would have been cost prohibitive. Yikes! But my parents somehow made everything work and we never felt the pinch.

[leeann]

No, with the exception of like 4 years when my youngest brother and sister were babies. As soon as they were both in pre-k, she went back to work full-time.

[Deleted]

Yeah. She started working part time when I was maybe 9 or so, which would have made my brother 4 and going into school. But she was always home when I got home from school.

I don't particularly want to be a SAHM, but I do get kind of sad thinking about not having afternoons with my kids the way my mom had with me. Its odd, that makes me sadder than the reality of my kids being at daycare during the baby-toddler stage.

[Deleted]

Not until I was a teenager. She was mostly in the navy when I was a kid.

[fuckyourcouch]

nope. after i was born, my mom worked full time and went to school for her associates degree. she worked full time until i was in 6th grade or so, and she took a year or two off due to some personal reasons. she worked full time after that as well.

my mom is a really hard worker. she's basically worked full time since she was 5 or so (her parents owned many of their own businesses and the kids were free help, unfortunately). in the last year, she's gone back to school to earn her bachelors degree and i'm very proud of her.

ETA: my mom and dad worked alternating shifts for years and years so someone was always available to be home with me/attend events/etc. unless there was an extenuating circumstance.

[gozf]

Yes.

She taught until she was 27, then stopped. She had me at 30, almost 31. Never went back to work. MUST BE NICE!

[eddy]

No

[blueballoon]

No

[crispnclean]

Nope. She has always worked, and always enjoyed working. I think that's where I get it from (although I don't have any children yet, I never plan on SAHM)

[peachykate]

On and off. She worked when it was only me and we lived out in California and then occasionally part time once the three of us were in school.

[Kit]

Nope.

[luckyval]

Nope, she was an elementary school teacher. They planned the kids out so that she was on maternity leave during summer break

[Ruby Gloom]

Yes, until we were all in school.

She also "babysat" for a couple of other kids when my sister & I were in school and just babysis & bro were at home.

However: we had a farm, so she also milked cows w/my uncle (dad & aunt traded off) and took care of the calves and feed hay help, etc. so she was always doing SOMEthing.

[eddy]

Also I wonder if the reason I have never had a desire to SAH is linked to the fact that my mom did not. Working is normal to me and I didn't feel guilt for wanting/needing to do the same. hmmm

[cuddlyevil]

On and off. She always sold Avon though (back when everyone had "territories") but she went back to work when we were in the 5th grade.

[Deleted]

Yes. My mom quit her job after I was born. Hasn't worked since.

She's told me it was the worst decision ever. Thanks, Ma.

[Bernadine]

My mom stopped working when my sister was born (I was 4) and went back when I was 10.

[looseseal]

Mostly. She did/does the books for my dad's small business, which was prob a 15 hr/wk deal. That didn't start until I was 12, though. She went back to work briefly when I was done w/ college, but that only lasted a few years.

[Waffles]

Nope. She went part time while I was at high school but that had nothing to do with me, it was a pre-pre-retirement plan sort of thing.

Not there yet but I suspect I'll ditto eddy & tamb when I have a kid.

[eddy]

My mom did have a lot of flexibility with her job so I have memories of her being the room mom and being home shortly after the bus dropped us off. Stuff like that.

[Deleted]

For the 1st year of my life only.

[Deleted]

She was until I turned 14 and my youngest brother was 5. Then she went into full work mode and was barely at home the first couple of years while her now very successful business got started and turned things around financially for the family. I think it was worse for the youngest because he never really got the same attention from her compared to what me and the middle child got, he was spoiled rotten and was totally brat! Thankfully he turned out fine and now my brothers are both working for her and making bank while I decided to go to grad school like my dad did and was poor for way longer than I should be.

[drrn04]

Her original plan was to SAH. But apparently I was a sucktastic obnoxious baby, and she couldn't handle staying home w/ me full time. So she went back to work part time after about a year, and worked part time until my sister was in Kindergarten (I think about 10 years?), when she went back to work full time.

[psychmom]

No. she stayed home for about a year to take care of my terminally ill grandfather who moved in with us. After that she ran an in-home daycare for years. I don't consider that SAH because she was definitely working taking care of the 5 kids she had in her daycare and brought in more money doing that than any other job she ever had.

[pantsparty]

Yes. She always had odd jobs; like she babysat on Fridays and helped old people out with their errands during the week. She's also been a receptionist at a salon and chiropractor on a very part time basis (one day a week). The fact that she did not work made me want to work, actually. She (and my dad, as he could) were very supportive and came to school events, helped out with activities, etc., but money was always such an issue in our house.

[shostakovich]

Nope. And she only had about two or three weeks off after she had me, then she had to go back to her final year of residency. She worked crazy hours, and missed a lot of stuff

[Deleted]

Nope. My dad wanted to live a pretty extravagant lifestyle without really working that hard, so my mom had to work. They split when I was 12 and after that she had to work since my dad made less than her and didn't pay his share of child support.

[eddy]

My grandma, obviously, stayed home. And then when her kids were grown she continued to be a housewife. I was so jealous of how thoughtful she was. She was the first to volunteer for something, or write a nice note, or think of really thoughtful gifts. She dedicated much of her time to others and it makes me feel sad I probably will never touch lives as much as she did. I guess she was also very good at this when her kids were little too.
I just always feel so haggered and like I have no time to complete any tasks because I am trying to juggle both aspects of my life.