Taking the plunge

I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. But I didn't know if I had what it takes. Will I do a good job of it? Can I handle unstructured days? What about loss of income? Is my self-esteem tied to holding a "proper job"? Will I regret it?

I took online quizzes that were supposed to help me determine whether I was cut out for this job. I knew what I wanted but there were so many things to consider and think about. There were no sure things. What if I didn't like being a SAHM? Could I come back to the work force successfully? If I left for a while, what if I got left behind by the advances of science? How could I keep up to date? Could I?

We already knew that we would be fine financially. The other issues were not so clear cut. It's one of those things that one will never know until one takes the plunge. But one thing eventually became clear to us. It was best for our son and our family. We didn't want him to grow up in a daycare setting. And although we have relatives who can take care of him during the day, it still would not be the best situation. Since we could give him the opportunity to have one parent stay at home to care for him, why deprive him of that chance?