Yesterday, my 6-year-old daughter offered to help me sweep the kitchen. "Of course!" I said. Now for Katie, this is typical. She enjoys cleaning and actually tidies up her room without me having to ask her. (My friends call me "Monica"--from "Friends." Katie may as well be Mini-Monica.)
Keep in mind, I have two older boys who think cleaning their room means moving their dirty clothes from the floor to the bed; and shoving assortments of Legos, pirate coins and PSP cartridges into one corner of their dressers will fool me into thinking they actually "put things away."
But the thing that stopped me in my tracks as Katie and I were sweeping was what she said after I mentioned that she would be good at keeping her own house clean when she grows up. She said, "I know. I want to clean and cook and drive my kids to school while my husband is at work, just like you do."
Now, Katie knows I am also a freelance writer and complains that I am "always" on my computer, but in this particular context, she viewed me as what I truly seek to be: a stay-at-home-mom. I thought about this fact--that my daughter wants to be a SAHM someday, too--and immediately, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. THIS is exactly what I want for her!
Don't get me wrong. I want her to attend college, find a profession she enjoys and get to work right away. But when the time comes to start a family, I hope she still values the importance of what a SAHM can offer, and that she and her husband will find a way to make it work financially so she can fully enjoy the enriching experience of motherhood. As for my sons, I have already told them I hope they will choose a wife who values these same ideals.
I'm not ashamed to feel this way, and I hope there are others of you out there who feel the same way. I'm proud to be a SAHM, and even prouder that my daughter sees me as one.
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