I've been very fortunate that Dusty and I have been able to afford for me to stay home with the kids. It's been quite an adjustment and I think I've transitioned really well.What surprises me is how much the saying "but you're a stay at home Mom" still affects me.

Most everyone uses it as a joke, as a way to point out that I made a mistake or didn't do something that they felt I should have and followed up the statement with "but you're a stay at home Mom." At first it was easy to brush off that saying by pointing out that I was still adjusting to being home with my children.

On top of trying to raise my children in the fashion I so desire I'm expected to cook, clean, garden, transport, organize, and a slew of other things. Thankfully, I actually enjoy most of these things and chose to take them on, but I by no means have perfected any of them. And when I make a mistake, I'd rather just laugh it off. So when I hear, "but your a stay at home Mom" it's like pouring salt on a wound. I already hold myself to a high standard as a mother, a wife, and a homemaker; I don't need someone else's standards too.

This is where it becomes my issue. Because you see, I can't change how someone responds to me, I can only change how I react to that response. So I'm writing this as a form of therapy, as a reminder that I can't be everyone's ideal stay at home Mom. And hopefully I'll learn to be OK with that.